What Ash May Fall
by slightlytragic
Summary: He had nothing. He was nothing. Whatever life he once had, it burned away long ago. Now he simply wandered through the ashes of what was.
1. Genesis

Chapter One

_Genesis_

* * *

Izuku Midoriya was four years old when he discovered he was quirkless. Looking back on his youth, he can point that day out as the day his life changed forever. Children so young should be consumed with joyful thoughts, thoughts of games with friends, what they would eat for dinner that night. Young little Izuku was consumed only by thoughts of despair and hopelessness. From that day forward, he didn't _have _friends anymore.

Izuku Midoriya was five years old the first time Katsuki used his quirk to blast him, burning him and sending him to the ground. He lied to his mother that night, saying he and Kacchan were playing and it just got a little out of hand. His mother believed him, his sweet, kind mother, who always sought to protect her innocent little boy, determined to protect him, even in the face of a cold world that sought to break him.

Izuku Midoriya was seven years old when his father Hisashi, a pro hero by the name of Vulcan, went missing in action. His mother sobbed and sobbed, and he broke with her. His father was the man he looked up to most, save perhaps All Might. His father was the reason little quirkless Izuku still dreamed of being a great hero. Once again, young Izuku felt that he was falling. Faster and faster.

Izuku Midoriya was ten years old when Katsuki caught him on a playground with several of his friends. Poor little Izuku didn't stand a chance. _Defenseless Izuku_, they would mock as they kicked, each blow harder than the last. It hurt. It hurt.

Izuku Midoriya was thirteen years old when Katsuki first told him to kill himself. It would become a running theme for the next year. No physical blow hurt worse than the taller boy's words, harsh and heavy. _You've become such a burden, Deku. I pity your poor old mother._ Yes, Izulu learned young that words hurt more than they had any right to.

Izuku Midoriya was fourteen years old when his house burned down. A villain attack, one that left the young boy scarred. The smoke had been too thick, the air too heavy. The world grew dark. He awakened in the cold arms of his dear, sweet, kind mother, who sought to shield him to her last breath. He was in shock, the doctors said. The detectives got nothing from him. His world could only spiral more.

Izuku Midoriya was fifteen years old when he seriously considered Katsuki's advice for the first time. Not to spare a mother he no longer had, but to spare himself from the pain of his own loneliness. The UA entrance exams came and went, and he didn't so much as apply. What was the point? He had no quirk, no family, no capabilities. Whatever heroic spirit he had possessed must have burned up in the flames of his home. He simply walked through the ashes now.

Izuku Midoriya was fifteen years old when he decided to die.

Izuku Midoriya was fifteen years old when he finally found a reason to live.

* * *

Ochako Uraraka was reasonably happy, for once. She had done it, after all! She, a lower-middle class girl from some random village in rural Japan with possibly the least flashy quirk imaginable, had gotten into the national school! She was happier now than she had been in a long time, proud of her achievements, and happy to be able to stay in one place for awhile, even if she did miss her parents.

Not only that, but she was beginning to make friends, something that had managed to elude her in middle school. She was a few weeks into her classes, and she had been doing well. Her progress was somewhat slow, but it was steady and consistent, and though her teacher still had a propensity for harsh criticism, he also genuinely applauded her advancements with her quirk.

Indeed, for Ochako, things seemed to be looking up. Though her classes could be stressful, she was enjoying her life, as well as living in dorms. After spending so long being lonely, it was nice to know that she could walk down the hall and find a friend to talk to.

They were the same friends that were now crowding around her desk in homeroom, all putting their heads together, trying to unravel the mysteries of the secret lesson that Aizawa had planned today.

"We were told we wouldn't need to bring our costumes or gym clothes, so I doubt it will be anything involving physical activity," Yaoyarozu reasoned to herself, "Though he did mention we would be going off campus…"

"OhthankGod," Ashido let out in one relieved breath, her words flowing into each other.

"That means it will probably be something more academically focused then, huh?" Ochako though aloud, Yaoyarozu nodding her agreement.

"Most likely. It would make the most sense, I think. I look forward to it," the tall girl said with a slight smile, "UA certainly goes out of its way to make sure we're learning!"

"...And I think there's only one person in the entire class who's grateful for that…" Ashido grumbled, giving the dark-haired girl a pointed look. Before Yaoyarozu could respond, a voice across the room cut her off.

"TAKE YOUR FEET OFF THE DESK THIS INSTANT!" Iida's shout cut through the room, momentarily silencing the rest of the class's conversations. "If this is how you conduct yourself in the confines of a classroom, then I _shudder _to think how you will represent our class today!"

"Well, maybe two people in the entire class," Ashido continued as they watched. The boy Iida was yelling at, the boy with the explosion quirk that Ochako remembered to be Bakugo, simply grunted and removed his feet.

The only people in the class Ochako failed to get a read on happened to also be the two top students, Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki. Bakugo was a monster in combat, and she had no problem admitting the fiery blond was intimidating. She remembered combat training, watching the way he used his explosions to wear Kirishima down before knocking the red-head unconscious. He had held such a fury, such a rage that he seemed to express in every blow. When he wasn't fighting, Bakugo did what Ochako could only describe as brooding. He was usually quiet, and when he talked, it was almost always terse and often rude. She was convinced that he did not know anyone's names, given that he had to use nicknames based on physical attributes (Round Face was a slight she could not ignore), and he had a propensity for arrogance. Despite all of this, he was still the top student, and he was very clearly intelligent beneath the layers of his ego.

Ochako was aware that she wasn't the smartest in the class, nor the strongest or the best fighter. However, she did pride herself on her ability to see through, get a read for, and understand people. Bakugo and Todoroki had both proven difficult people to read. As she watched Bakugo remove his feet from the desk, she couldn't help but think the boy looked kinda… sad, in his own way.

"Ochako?" Hearing Ashido's voice drew her back to reality. She blinked twice before turning to face her friend.

"Hm? Sorry, I'd spaced out a bit," Ochako said with an apologetic grin.

"I asked how you've been adjusting to life in the dorms. I know for some of us, it's difficult to adjust to living without our parents, but you lived on your own before, didn't you?" Ashido asked.

"Mm. I lived in a student apartment, which is a little larger than my dorm room. To be honest, I prefer the dorms over my old apartment. It's comforting to know that someone I trust is right down the hall if I'm ever in need!" Ochako said, a genuine and grateful smile coming to her face. For a moment, the other girls just looked at her.

"You're too much of a cinnamon roll for your own good, Ocha," Hagakure said, making the others chuckle lightly as a slight blush came to Ochako's cheeks.

"Ahhhh, leave her alone," Ashido called out. "I think we'd all be grateful if she could always have a face lit up like that."

No one knew then that before the day was over, Ochako's face would be coated in blood, a smile nowhere to be found.

* * *

Izuku was many things at this point in his life.

Hopeless, lonely, fearful, timid, weak.

But he was perceptionate, and could pick out small thing most people would miss. Perhaps he was hardwired to keep an eye out for danger, perhaps he was still clinging to some idealistic fantasy of being a hero… whatever the reason, it came in handy.

And at the moment, he was glad to have such perception.

It was on the streets of downtown Musutafu, his home city. As Izuku walked, he looked across the street to see the All Might museum that had opened a few weeks ago. He smiled forlornly, realizing he had yet to visit. In the late morning sun, the building looked magnificent. Standing tall, the front of the building was simple brick, but there had been murals of the Number One Hero painted all across the museum. On the roof stood a statue dedicated to All Might, shining gold that glinted in the sunlight.

Izuku took in the sight for a moment before turning to the left, his eyes catching movement in the alleyway beside the museum. From his distance, and due to how close and densely packed the buildings in downtown were, it was hard for him to make out many details, but he could make out three shapes, each varying wildly.

The first was massive, by far the biggest of the three. From so far, Izuku could not make out any facial features, but it towered over the two figures accompanying it. He was about eight feet of muscle, it seemed.

The second was much more nebulous. The only detail Izuku could make out were its eyes, yellow slits.

The third was probably the most distinct. A male figure, tall and painfully thin, with bright blue hair. His face was completely obscured by some kind of mask, though he was too far for Izuku to tell much anyway. He seemed to be poking his head out, looking toward the front of the All Might Museum with rapt attention. Waiting. They were waiting. But for what?

Izuku didn't have much. But instincts had always been kind to him, and instincts were screaming one thing in his mind right now.

_Danger_

* * *

"Maaaaan, gotta say, a field trip to the All Might museum seems a bit weird," Kaminari whined. "I mean, he's like, our teacher, right? Why see a museum when we _know _the guy that the museum is dedicated to?"

The bus was noisy from overlapping conversations, so it was possible that Aizawa simply hadn't heard him rather than ignoring him. Not likely, but possible.

Iida had certainly heard him, though.

"Kaminari!" The class representative began, "Do you not understand what an honor it is that our class specifically has been invited to attend this museum?! We must exemplify the professionalism and educational enthusiasm that has come to be expected of UA!"

Ochako giggled lightly. She couldn't help herself, Iida's little outbursts always got a laugh out of her. She'd found he was a nice guy once you could get him to relax. Just… good luck getting him to that point.

"Ah, c'mon Iida. You exemplify more than enough 'educational enthusiasm' for all of us," Kaminari said, a smirk crossing his features. "I think that means that the rest of us can afford to cut loose a little."

"I think you've been a little too loose since the day you left the womb," Jiro muttered to his side.

"I must agree with Jiro, Kaminari. You are far too relaxed for such an auspicious day!" Iida said, beginning his signature hand movements and eliciting a sigh from the entire bus.

"Oh great, he's started the hand movements," Sero muttered from somewhere behind Ochako.

"That just means he's excited!" She said, a bright grin coming to her features as she clenched a fist. In truth, she was getting a bit pumped up too, the class rep's enthusiasm spreading to her. Not that she wasn't naturally excitable anyway.

"Of course I am!" Iida turned back in his seat to face her, returning her grin. "After all, I've wanted to visit this museum for some time now!"

"It'll be great, you guys," Kirishima said, his optimism unflappable. "Even Bakugo will have a good time!"

The fiery blond simply grunted from where he sat.

"Ahhhh, don't let him kill the mood!" Kirishima continued, unphased.

"It'll be a good learning experience I suppose, as well as a chance for the class to come together," Yaoyarozu said from the seat in front of Ochako.

"Yeah!" She said. "Momo's right! We can only be better from this experience anyway, right?"

A few greeted her words with enthusiastic approval, though she did hear a few groans from the likes of Kaminari and Mineta.

No matter, as Ochako looked around the bus, she realized that perhaps for the first time in her life, she was surrounded by friends.

* * *

"They're here."

"Master, I must ask again, are you sure this is wise? While it is a great weapon, sure to unleash destruction, what if we were to lose it?"

"Then father will make us another."

"Yes, but it took so long to create one so powerful. They believe it is capable of destroying All Might himself, I simply fail to see what is to be gained from setting it on a class of high school children."

"I don't just want All Might to die, Kurogiri. I want him to be destroyed. His name and very image tarnaged. Now, if a bunch of UA brats were to be brutally murdered in front of a museum dedicated to his honor, what kind of image does that paint?"

"We are not so far from the school that back up won't reach us. This can possibly include All Might himself."

"So much the better. They can die too. He can die too. As long as he knows he's failed. By the time he gets here, the entire class may already be dead. Anyway, if anything goes wrong, you can get us out."

"Perhaps I can, master, but it is unwise to tempt fate."

"Don't tell me anything about _fate. _I will be the one to dismantle that wretched god, and it begins with his vaunted status as the 'Symbol of Peace'. Now come, take us to the roof."

"As you wish."

* * *

The second the UA bus arrived, Izuku made a call.

He talked no longer than he needed to, hanging up after he said everything he had needed to. He could only pray that they would take him seriously.

Because the second the UA bus arrived, Izuku knew what the mysterious trio in the alley wanted. As he glanced back, he noted that only the massive figure remained, the other two seeming to have disappeared. Nevermind them.

Izuku knew what they wanted.

They were after blood.

The tank of a creature began to leave the shadows of the alley, stepping into the light as it began walking toward the students as they exited the bus. Now Izuku got a better look at him.

Its skin was dark, almost like a slightly lighter shade of black. Its body was covered in muscle, as though every inch of its body had been perfected manually. The most unsettling aspect of the creature was its face. Its brain seemed to literally stick out of its head, and its beak glinted sunlight into Izuku's eyes. Even from so far away, Izuku could see the wild, raging look in its eyes.

Unconsciously, not even aware he was doing it, Izuku began to cross the street slowly, walking toward the creature. Sparks began setting off in his stomach.

A man with a long scarf wrapped around his neck leapt over the students that had just gotten off the bus, and even from here, Izuku could hear him shouting for them to get back on the bus. He guessed this man was their teacher, as he stood between the creature and his class. The creature maintained its slow walk toward the class, who despite the order, seemed almost frozen. The teacher leapt at the creature to slow it down, but in one punch, the difference in their power became clear.

The teacher flew backward, slamming through the bus with enough force to punch a hole. Even from here, Izuku could hear the crunch.

Izuku started running. The sparks became a wildfire.

* * *

Ochako turned back, in a daze.

There was her teacher, the blunt but caring Aizawa, lying halfway through the bus, a bloodied and broken mess.

One of the most unmovable, unshakable, confident people she had ever known, broken.

And as she faced forward, she realized that this would be her fate, too.

Towering over her was the creature who had destroyed her teacher, looking down at her with a look she could only describe as sheer, animalistic rage.

It raised its arm, and ever instinct in her body screamed at her to run, hide, do anything. Fight or flight was breaking down in her head, as her legs seemed to be made of lead.

She didn't move. No one in her class moved. All were too terrified by the image in front of them. They were just kids, Ochako realized. Perhaps someday, they would have grown to be great heroes, but on that day, they were just kids too scared to move. She never realized just how terrified she was of death until that moment.

She was going to die. She was going to die. She was going to-

Suddenly, a force hit her, hard.

But it was from the wrong angle, and despite being a hard hit, it wasn't _nearly_ as hard as it should have been.

Ochako hit the ground a few feet to the right of where she had been standing, turning her head in time to see a green-haired boy standing in her place, where she had been only a moment prior, giving her a shaky smile despite the abject terror in his eyes.

Then the creatures arm descended.

The boy's blood splattered on her face.


	2. Awakening

Chapter Two

_Awakening_

* * *

_Everything hurt._

_He could feel the pieces of his spine, shattered and worthless, move when he breathed._

_He could feel his ribs, cracked and splintered, digging into his lungs._

_He could feel his collarbone cutting into his throat._

_He screamed into the void, but no sound escaped._

_Izuku Midoriya took one last breath, and he screamed no more._

* * *

Ochako stared, terrified. The boy had pushed her out of the way, taken the hit for her, and now what? He laid there, his breaths heavy, shuddering, strained. His back rose and fell erratically, until he took in one more deep breath.

His back stopped rising after that.

Around her, the class began to stir. She was aware of arms wrapping around her. Iida's arms. She didn't even glance at him, her gaze stuck on the broken body, now half buried in the concrete from the force of the blow. Numbly, she raised a hand to her cheek.

She felt the blood.

_His _blood.

Blood, mixed with dirt and, she realized, her own tears. She wasn't cognizant as to when she started crying, only now knowing that tears flowed freely down her face. She knew, on a primal, instinctual level, she had just witnessed someone's last moments.

Last moments given up to save her life.

Iida didn't say a word. He turned, Ochako still in his arms, wanting to run. Tears streamed down his face, too, having also seen the boy's demise.

"He… It killed… It _destroyed _him," Iida's voice was soft, but the horror was palpable. "I have to… get… away…"

Before he could take a step, it was right behind them, inhumanly fast. Even faster than the brother of Ingenium.

Ice covered its body, acid burned at its arm. Todoroki and Ashido seemed to have recovered enough to see what was about to happen, but the creature continued, undeterred.

It raised its arm again, and Ochako had the image of the green-haired boy, joined by her and Iida. The class rep realized that he wasn't fast enough, so he did what instincts commanded him to, crouching down with Ochako, trying to shield her from the blow.

It wouldn't be enough, she realized. The force of the blow would crush both of them, leaving them broken and bloody, just like their teacher, and her green-haired savior. She could see, from her position low to the ground, the arm had begun its descent.

"I'm sorry, Uraraka," she heard Iida whisper, his voice shaking, as he clenched his eyes shut. She did the same, bracing for the few seconds of pain before she drifted to the void.

The pain never came.

Fearfully, she opened her eyes to look at the creature. It had lowered its arm, and was facing behind them now, its body turned half way. It seemed… confused? Surprised?

"What… what the hell?" The question came from Bakugo, in the least 'Bakugo' voice she had ever heard. "_Deku?"_

He sounded… haunted. Ochako looked at him, where he stood a few yards away, staring past her with a look like he had just seen a ghost.

She followed his gaze, matching that of the creatures, set behind where Iida stood and she realized where Bakugo's haunted expression originated from. For all intents and purposes, he _had _seen a ghost.

The green-haired boy had risen to his feet, his body still broken, blood seeping from areas where his bones had snapped and pierced through his own flesh, his eyes were open, and they seemed to _glow _green, a few shades lighter than the color of his hair. Once again, no one in her class could move, and it seemed even the creature was unsure of what would happen next.

Then, the boy's body jolted. The sound of crunching bone could be heard by everyone in the class, as they watched the boy's body shift before them. His shoulder realigned itself, and his ribs were taking shape properly. Structurally, his body began to return to a normal shape, though it retained the scars and open wounds.

It was a disturbing process to watch.

"W-what the hell is this?" Todoroki said, an uncharacteristic stutter coming to his voice. "What manner of quirk…"

"It's as though… as though he's piecing his very body back together…" Yaoyarozu's voice called, small and quiet.

"G-guys, I think we should be running, while it's d-distracted," Kaminari said, fear creeping into his tone.

"W-we c-c-can't leave h-him," Ochako's own voice was shaky and choppy, and she was still fully aware of the boy's blood dripping down her own face. "E-even if w-we ran… it's too fast. And we'd be abandoning both him an-and Mr. Ai-Aizawa."

The creature showed no indication of hearing them, still staring at the body putting itself back together.

"C-c'mon, Ashido. Help me pry Aizawa out," Yaoyarozu said, walking toward the bus, though her eyes never left the creature. The pink-skinned girl nodded numbly, following the creation-user.

"To-Todoroki, Bakugo, Kirishima, Sato, protect them," Iida ordered, standing straight now, and putting Ochako down beside him. The four boys nodded, even Bakugo, despite the look of terror in his eyes as he watched the boy piece himself together.

"Uraraka, stay close," Iida said, before turning to face the boy. "Can you hear me?! I… I don't know who you are, nor what this power is, but you saved the life of my friend and classmate, and for that, I owe you thanks!"

The boy did not respond, nor did he look at them. His eyes stayed fixated on the creature, much as the creature's stayed fixed on him.

"I don't know the nature of your power, but you… you need to get back!" Iida's voice took a more urgent tone than Ochako had ever heard from him.

"Please, if you can escape, go for it!" Ochako said, her voice cracking. "I-I owe you my life, I don't want to see yours taken!"

She wasn't sure where the next words came from. She just said what she felt sounded right.

"I… I have no idea who you are, but you saved me! You… took action when no one else could! I'm only alive because of you! Please, get away! You don't have to die here, you can run while it's confused like this!"

She took a breath.

"I don't know you, I don't know who you are… but to me, you're a _hero_!"

For a moment, the boy's eyes stopped glowing. He looked down at his body, which had been broken and destroyed a minute prior, and now was put back together. He looked up again, staring at the creature, then turning his unfocused gaze toward Ochako.

His voice was quiet, soft and sad. But in that moment, in those few seconds of silence, they may as well have been screams.

"..._hero…?_"

Looking back, Ochako would wonder if he was even fully conscious at that moment. His eyes were unfocused, his words not spoken to her nor anyone in her class. Tears began to fall, though his facial expression remained unchanged.

Tears fell, and suddenly, his eyes were glowing once again. Ochako saw his chest rise and fall, his face changing to one of anger as he turned to face the creature again. Slowly, he raised his arm, pointing it toward the creature, as a green fire began to burn in the palm of his hand.

The next few seconds happened almost too quickly for Ochako to perceive.

The creature raced forward, but was met with an inferno. Green flames poured over it, scorching its flesh searing it harshly.

The same fire poured over the students, yet none of them seemed to be hurt by it. Rather, Ochako noted, the second the green flame hit her, she was struck by an odd feeling of ease. She felt the scrape from falling to the floor closing, as though she were being healed. The flames began to surround the boy, as though he were the center of a bonfire. The fire was intense enough to create a slight wind from the sheer force of it, with the boy acting as a focal point.

Yet the creature pressed forward. It barely even slowed. It reached the boy in the blink of an eye, raising its hand in a fist before slamming it forward.

What should of punctured his chest merely sent the boy sprawling back, his body slamming into the building beside the museum. Not even a second later, he rose again, his body not even looking slightly damaged. It was as though something was dulling them force of the impacts.

The boy raised his arm again before closing it into a fist. The ground beneath the creature seemed to be torn up by an invisible force, pieces of it assaulting the beast and attaching to its body until eventually it was surrounded in a ball of concrete. The boy raised his hand toward the air, the creature and the concrete following suit, until they sat at around twenty meters, suspended above the open street below.

Slowly, the boy began floating as well, until he was at the same level as the creature, still encased. The flames shot forth once again, burning so hot and bright that the entire street was bathed in a cascade of green.

"He's… he's unstoppable…" Iida muttered beside Ochako, both their mouths hanging agape.

"Telekinesis…? That… that explains a part of it, and I-I guess he… I guess that's how he put himself back together… using his power to force his own bones back into place, and I think he's created a… a barrier around himself of some kind, to dull the blows. B-But the fire… It clearly burns that thing, but it didn't hurt us at all…" Yaoyarozu muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

"Yaoyarozu, focus," Todoroki said, his voice uneven, on edge. "It's still not safe here."

"R-Right," she said, returning to using the saw she created to cut Aizawa out of the ruined bus, still unconscious, but his wounds mostly having been healed from the flames.

Suddenly, the concrete shattered, and the creature leapt forward. In one blow, it sent the boy crashing down into the earth, the ground rupturing from the impact, before the creature came down on top of him. It stared down at him for a moment, its body almost destroyed but still powerful, and it rained blows down on the boy. Each seemed to strike harder than the last, the earth began to shake with the force of each impact, all of the students forced to watch, helpless and unable to do anything.

Maybe that's why Ochako broke down into tears when she heard those words.

"My students…" even with the sound of the earth being torn apart, even with their own dispeir screaming at them, all eyes turned to face toward that voice. "You don't need to be afraid any longer," the voice was different than it usually was. There was not a humorous undertone, no attempt at charisma or trying to seem larger than life. The voice was subdued. Quiet.

_Outraged._

"**I… am… here…**"

* * *

All Might took in the scene. It had only been about three or four minutes since UA had gotten the call from the frantic boy, erratically trying to warn them of an impending attack before suddenly hanging up, but it still seemed that he was too late to outright prevent it. He was grateful to God that all of the students seemed okay, at least physically, but they were also clearly in shock. They looked at him with such terror, such horror. They all thought they were going to die today.

It infuriated him beyond words.

Then there was the creature evidently responsible for the attack. It pounded on something beneath it relentlessly, the earth seeming to explode every time it brought its fists down. The creature had sustained heavy damage, however. While some of its wounds seemed to be regenerating, the burns were cauterized and unable to heal. It looked like it had been on the losing end of a fight recently.

All Might flew forward, slamming into the creature with all his strength. It flew down the road, tumbling end over end, before rising to its feet unsteadily. He turned around to see what the creature had been assaulting so violently to find…

_A child?_

The boy was bloody and bruised, and it looked like the assault had broken some ribs. But all things considered, there shouldn't _be _a boy there. With that much power, the child should have been paste at this point.

All Might shoved those thoughts away, choosing to be glad that the boy was even alive. He turned to face the creature.

"This was a child, and you acted so violently?! I do not know what you are, nor why you fight, but for this, I will put you down!" His voice was booming, authoritative, angry. He began to walk forward, when a voice stopped him.

"He doesn't fight for anything," in front of All Might, next to the creature, a black form took shape, joined by a frail looking man of blue hair, his face obstructed by a mask in the shape of a hand. The voice, All Might assumed was the blue-haired one's, was shaking, quivering. As though he was frustrated beyond words.

"You see… Nomu here was designed specifically to kill you. It was supposed to be your equal, if not your superior, in every single way. So _imagine _my ultimate _displeasure_ when he gets so badly damaged by a _child, who's not even a part of UA!" _The man started scratching at his neck, almost like a nervous tick.

"Tell me…" All Might's voice boomed through the silent street. "Who are you, and why did you threaten my students?"

"We wanted to _kill _your students, All Might!" The man yelled back, a gleeful note to his voice. "We wanted to _kill you _in front of your own museum, with a bus's worth of dead students to mark your ultimate failure!"

All Might clenched his teeth, a rage boiling deep within him.

"You would… threaten the lives of my students… of _children… _just to get to me…?" His tone dropped, his volume nearly silent.

"We would do that and SO much more, _Symbol of Peace,_" The man used the title as an insult, raising his hands in an image of mock revelry. "And, I believe we have spoken more than enough. Now, Nomu… _kill him."_

"_Shigaraki!"_

A deep voice emanated from the black voice, which All Might guessed was some odd quirk that altered his appearance. The blue-haired one turned to face the void, a questioning, and angry expression burning in his eyes.

"I understand your frustration, master," the void began, "but look at the Nomu. It can barely walk at this point. It sustained too much damage against that boy; you know that fire works especially well against it."

Shigaraki wanted to scream, but realized his lieutenant had a very valid point. One of the Nomu's greatest strengths was its ability to regenerate, an ability that gets completely circumvented by fire. He watched the creature crawl on failing limbs, desperate to achieve its designated purpose, but physically incapable of doing so. He let out a long, frustrated sigh.

"Fine. Take us back, Kurogiri. _Father _will have to repair the damage," Shigaraki turned back to All Might. "Congrats. None of your students died today. But I wonder, will you be able to protect them forever?"

The black void grew, as All Might flew forward, yelling with an incoherent rage at the sound of his students being threatened once more.

"This isn't the last you've seen of us," Shigaraki's voice was quiet, soft and deadly. "The League of Villains will destroy you."

Then, before All Might could reach them, they'd vanished into the void. _A teleportation quirk… _he wondered to himself, before shaking his head. He had so many questions, so many new concerns, but for now, he had to focus on his students, and the boy.

Turning around, he saw several of the students gathered around the boy's body. Some stood several feet away, looks of awe and… terror etched into their features. Some stood closer, observing with curious eyes. What surprised him the most was the girl named Uraraka. While all the other students crowded around him looked on with some degree of caution, she had knelt beside him, shakily setting him up in her arms and leaning his body against her own, as she checked over his bruised and battered body, seeing if there was anything she could do.

All Might made his way over slowly, not wanting to startle any of the young students.

"My students, I am sorry. This… this is not something any of you should have experienced. The rest of the teachers will be here shortly, but why don't you all explain what happened?" He asked, as gently as he could.

Gazes flickered from student to student, as though each was asking who should be the one to speak.

"It… it all happened so fast…" Iida spoke up, trying to take on his responsibility as class rep. "We had just gotten off the bus when that… thing started to approach us. Mr. Aizawa saw it, and tried to stop it, but… it took one hit, and he was half-way through the bus."

All Might furrowed his brow, glancing over to Yaoyarozu and Ashido as they carried his unconscious form. He had several cuts and bruises, but he looked _far_ better than he should have. Yaoyarozu seemed to have caught his glance.

"It was… I think it was the boy's quirk. He used a fire that was capable of scorching that creature, but the second it hit Aizawa, it was like it was healing his wounds… to be frank, he probably would have died had it not been for those flames."

All Might returned his gaze to the unconscious boy, his chest rising and falling steadily. His nose was bleeding, despite repeated attempts from Uraraka to stop it, and his face was badly, badly bruised. It occurred to him that the boy very well could have internal injuries in addition to these.

"Class Rep," he said after a moment.

"Sir?"

"Do you know the way to Musutafu General from here?"

"...Yes sir, I do."

"Take the boy and run as quickly as you can without jostling him too badly," All Might said, with a tone of finality. The rep nodded, bending over to take the boy from Uraraka. Iida gave the dazed girl a concerned look before darting off, boy in hands, sprinting toward the hospital.

He turned to the rest of the class. Some of them, like Hagakure, Mineta, and even Jiro had begun crying. Others talked lightly amongst themselves. Most simply stood or sat, shaking where they were.

"My students, you are all safe now. I vow to protect you from them, unto my final breath," he said, kneeling down to be closer to eye level with them. "I understand that this is a lot to process, more than can be fairly asked of any of you. Not five, six minutes ago, you were just a class full of wide-eyed wonder. To have that be crushed in so… so brutal of a manner is unforgivable. Now, the police will be here soon, but there are things I wish to ask you about. Will you help me?"

The majority nodded. Some, such as Bakugo and Uraraka, seemed to be staring into empty space. It was then that All Might noticed the blood on Uraraka's face, though he assumed it was from a wound that had been healed by the odd flames Yaoyarozu had mentioned.

"So to start with, how was it that the creature was so badly damaged? It was burned almost to the point that the skin seemed to fall off the bone. It was able to tank a direct hit from me, but it was as though it had already sustained harm more than it could properly take."

Several eyes drifted toward the crater where Uraraka sat, still staring at her hands where the boy had been. A silence stretched on, no one quite being sure how to put what they had seen into words. All Might could read the subtext.

"It was the boy alone?" Several nods in response. "Tell me then, how did the boy get involved."

Uraraka very noticeably flinched. She looked up, slowly, uncertainly, looking at All Might with a look he had never seen from the bubbly brunette. Tears leaked from big, brown eyes, her face twisted in a look of shock, frustration, and anger.

"H-he… t-the creature w-w-was above m-me… It was g-going to…" She let out a shaky breath, gathering her thoughts. "It was going to kill me. Smash me into the dirt and kill me. It… it had raised its arm to hit me but… he… he shoved me out of the way. It… It destroyed his body. It broke him."

All Might's eyes widened, taking in a detail of her face with more clarity now.

"Then, the blood on your face… it's…"

Uraraka's stiff nod said everything it needed to.

"But… he didn't look 'broken'. A little battered and beaten up, certainly, but not on the brink of death. Did his quirk heal himself as well…?"

"If I may?" Yaoyarozu asked, raising her hand and continuing at the nod. "It… it seemed clear to me that he possessed two quirks, not just one. There were his flames, that seemed to selectively have healing properties, yes, but…" She trailed off for a moment.

"He was also using telepathy… at least, that's what it looked like. His body _was _broken, we all… we all saw it. He was slammed into the dust and the creature was ready to move on. But then he stood back up."

"Shit was terrifying," Kaminari said, shaking still. "It was like he wasn't even conscious…"

"Did… did you see the way his eyes were… like… glowing? When the flames came out, I thought that was the end of us all," Hagakure added.

"In any case," Yaoyarozu continued, "when he stood, it was like we were watching him piece his body back together… I… I think he used his telepathy to force his bones into mending temporarily. It… that should have been painful in a way we could never imagine, but his face was blank throughout the process. I think Kaminari was right, the boy was in some altered state of consciousness."

"That's… That's not all," Uraraka added. "I think… it seemed like I got through to him, only for a second, but long enough to get him into a semi-conscious state. It was… I told him that he was a hero…"

"Did… did anyone else see the tears on his face when she said that?" Kirishima asked, to be met with several nods.

"He repeated it too, almost like he was in… disbelief? Shock?" Todoroki ventured.

"Whatever it was, he… he _acted _like a hero. He tried to restrain the monster and keep him away from us or civilian areas in general. Maybe it was subconsciously, but he seemed intent on truly being what I called him," Uraraka said, a shaky breath leaving her lungs. "What's going to happen to him?"

All eyes turned back to All Might, who had taken all this information in as steadily as he could.

"Well… first order of business is identification. UA got a call just before the attack started from a frantic young man warning us of just such a thing, and I have a suspicion that this young man and your mystery savior are one and the same. We will have to check phone records when we get the chance, but that will give us a good jumping off point."

"His name's Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya."

All eyes turned to Bakugo. His words, quiet and soft, silenced all around him.

"You… you know him, Bakugo?" Kirishima asked. Bakugo gave the slightest of nods.

"Yeah… yeah, I used to… It was a long time ago, it feels like," he said, his voice picking up a little. "But I can tell you all this much; whatever the hell we just saw, it's unlike anything Deku had been capable of when I knew him."

"Were… were his quirks weaker back then?" Yaoyarozu asked. Bakugo gave a scoff.

"He didn't _have _quirks back then."

To this, the entire class, as well as All Might's eyes widened with surprise.

"But… but how? He more than held his own against that thing, and he was supposed to be quirkless?" Mineta's voice asked in disbelief.

"He was powerful in a way that none of us are, except maybe Todoroki," Yaoyarozu agreed, her tone incredulous. "There's no possible way, he had to be lying to you."

To this, Bakugo's face darkened. It was as though he was reliving something abhorrent.

"No," he said finally. "No, he believed he was quirkless, and so did the rest of us."

"...It is rare…" All Might began, "Rare, but not unheard of, for 'quirkless' individuals to not be quirkless at all, but instead have simply failed the activation method needed for the quirk to actually take effect. If the activation method were, say, being pushed to the brink of death… then it is entirely likely that someone could go through their whole lives genuinely believing that they were quirkless. What Bakugo is suggesting has more basis than you all may initially see."

All Might turned to face the boy.

"Young Bakugo, since you know the boy, can it be assumed you know his family as well? His parents?" The dark look returned to the boy's face.

"He doesn't have any. No parents, no family, no friends, as far as I know."

His harsh tone, mixed with his words, brought an uncomfortable silence over all of them. It was only eventually interrupted by sirens in the distance.

All Might let out a sigh.

"My students. You all have suffered greatly today, and I am truly, truly sorry. You all survived, however, and that is something to be proud of, and grateful for. I hope… I truly hope that the next time you encounter such abhorrent characters, you will have the training to take them down. Until then, I will protect all of you to the best of my ability. Now, the police are arriving and the pros are sure to be here soon. Please, allow me to take Aizawa to Musutafu General, the police will take care of you from here."

And with that, he was off. His friend stirred lightly in his arms before settling once more.

* * *

Ochako still sat in the crater, her gaze lingering once more on where the boy had been in her arms.

She meant what she had told him. This boy, untrained and believed quirkless, was a hero. The fact that he probably didn't even know he had a quirk only made him a bigger hero in her eyes.

Yet, what Bakugo had said…

She remembered his tears, how shocked he seemed to be referred to as a hero. Shocked enough to snap out of his altered consciousness, if only for a moment. She hadn't had time nor the mentality to see it right then, but now, she could very clearly see the sadness in his eyes. The disbelief that someone could call him a hero.

She reflected on Bakugo's words as she drew a hand to her forehead, wiping his blood from it.

For a moment, she stared at the blood on her hand, before coming to a conclusion.

_No friends, huh?_


	3. Mending

Chapter Three

_Mending_

* * *

_Sounds of people bustling. Bright lights. A room full of white._

_He only caught glimpses, unsure of where he was, who he was._

_A machine beeped rhythmically from somewhere to his side._

_His thoughts turned to a girl, brown hair and brown eyes, in tears._

_Her words… what had she said? What had she called him?_

_A __**hero**__? Is that who he was? What he was?_

_Thoughts left him, as his world turned black._

* * *

"He nearly _died_?! He didn't look so gravely injured!"

The doctor let out a tired sigh, massaging his temples. All Might realized that he… probably overreacted a bit.

"Forgive me, Doctor. I do not mean to yell," he said, his tone softer. "I just don't understand. When I brought him in two days ago, he wasn't in too bad a shape."

"Most of his injuries were internal. I suppose it's to be expected, but almost every bone in his upper body took damage of some form or another. If what your students said is true, then he did a pretty damned good job of piecing his skeleton back together. Unfortunately, that does little to change the fact that many of his vitals had been pierced by the fragmentation of his bones," the doctor explained.

"It's also worth mentioning that all of these incisions on his vitals had been… cauterized. As had his bones, as though to force them to stay back together. It's done a remarkably good job of doing so, but regardless. By the time he got here, he had lost a lot of blood, most of it probably being from that initial impact. We had to give him several transfusions, and that's before even considering the more… nebulous issues."

All Might raised a brow to this. "Such as?"

"I suspect they're side effects of his quirk. To put it plainly, it was as though he burned through all of his body's supply of energy. Frankly, if his body hadn't been continuing to carry out its functions, I would have thought him dead. For the first day, he was effectively brain dead. Since then, his activity has increased, and in general, he's been recovering. At the moment, he's stable and open to visitors, but he is almost certainly asleep, and probably will be for a few days," the doctor said, the bags under his eyes reminding All Might of Aizawa, who had checked out the same day he'd been brought in.

"So, about the boy's quirk…" All Might began. "You're the medical official in charge of the first case wherein Young Midoriya's quirk has been a factor. As such, it falls on you to write it up and name it, doesn't it?

"Ah, right. His quirk is certainly an odd one. It's unusual to have a quirk with such an… extreme activation requirement, and for it to be one so out of the ordinary… there are many gaps that I won't be able to fill until the boy's awake. But I've done some digging into the boy's past, and while I am unable to tell you anything specific, his quirk seems to be a mixture of his parents', but if both of his parents' quirks had been hyper-charged. For the time being, it seems that this quirk, while exceptionally powerful, comes at a cost. It burns through his energy, both mentally and physically, and leaves him in a near catatonic state for up to a few days afterward. Not to mention that this quirk seems to be triggered by catastrophic damage to his own body, which his quirk seems well suited to repair as best it can."

All Might looked at the tired man expectantly. "And the name for this new quirk?"

"Given the activation requirements, and the stories I've heard from you and the media coverage, I believe I've found a fitting title."

A moment of silence passed.

"Tell me… how does _Lazarus_ sound to you?"

* * *

Shota Aizawa let out a sigh. His computer screen had too bright a glow for his dark room, especially given the old story he had pulled up.

It was an article from around a year ago. A house had burned down, a mother died, leaving her quirkless son alone. His father, a pro hero called Vulcan, had gone missing seven years earlier.

A pro hero with the ability to breathe fire.

The insinuation was rather clear.

The fire had been determined to have started from a quirk of some sort, but despite the best efforts of the police, they couldn't get anything out of the boy who'd survived. He'd been traumatized and was silent during the questioning outside of saying that it was an attack.

His name wasn't listed in the article in order to protect the boy's privacy. His mother's, however…

Inko Midoriya. Mother of Izuku, the boy who had saved both Shota's own life, as well as his entire class of first years.

The boy who, as it would seem, had nothing left.

Shota looked into the boy as soon as he learned his name, curious about the person who would engage in such suicidal heroism, all to save a bunch of strangers. Last he'd heard, the boy was still out, though they'd stabilized him and didn't expect any permanent injuries.

Shota brought a hand to his face, feeling the bandage under his right eye, where the glass from one of the bus's shattered windows had punctured deep into his flesh. It was the only wound he retained from the incident five days ago, all others having been mended by the healing properties of the boy's strange fire. He wasn't a fool. He knew he should be dead.

Fire that heals and burns as the user chooses, and powerful telepathy that can enhance physical durability… according to All Might, Midoriya's doctor had dubbed the quirk _Lazarus _due to the… extreme triggering conditions. If the boy could use either of these abilities at will, he would be a real force to be reckoned with.

A phone call interrupted his thoughts. Squinting his eyes, he looked at the caller ID.

_Yagi, Toshinori_

Shota furrowed his brow. It was well past midnight, the time for phone calls having long since ended. He considered not answering, but immediately thought better of it. He knew All Might well enough to know that, for him to call at this hour, it must have been exceptionally important.

"Yeah?" His answer was short, simple.

"_Aizawa. I hope I didn't wake you."_ Shota could tell by his voice that the Number One was in his weaker state.

"I wasn't asleep. What do you need?"

"_I just got a call from the hospital. The boy, Izuku Midoriya, he just woke up."_

"Mm. I'll be sure to visit then, give him my thanks. I appreciate you letting me know," Shota said, getting ready to say farewell, when the older man's voice gave him pause.

"_Aizawa, there… there was something I wanted to speak to you about."_

Taking Shota's silence, Toshinori continued.

"_The boy, I've been thinking a great deal about his actions, as I'm sure you have. I… I don't know how to properly describe my thoughts, I'm afraid. But he… he has a heart more heroic than most pros I know. I also… I also know you have a free spot in 1-A."_

Shota smiled ruefully, thinking back to the boy he had sent home on the first day. The kid had possessed a powerful quirk, but hadn't had what it took. Shota could sense that kinda thing. He also knew very well where All Might was headed.

"Look, Toshinori. I understand where you're coming from, and what the kid did was truly a noble and selfless act worthy of commendation," Shota began. "However, nobility and selflessness alone do not make a hero. For one, we're nearly a month into the semester. He would be so far behind everyone else, and would likely stay that way."

"For two, his quirk may have an insane amount of power, but we can assume he knows nothing about it, maybe even less than we do. If your power can only be triggered by taking possibly mortal injuries, then you have little hope of being a hero. Perhaps he can enroll in a different course, but the Hero Course… the boy nearly died, it wouldn't be healthy to send him off to his death once more. Hell, we don't even know for sure if he _wants _to go to UA"

"_He did."_

The silence stretched for a moment. Finally. A long sigh from the other end.

"_Katsuki Bakugo, from your class, knew Midoriya when they were kids. It was… the boy's dream to attend UA. To become a hero, even seemingly quirkless. He… he was a top student, got high marks on every test he took in Junior High. He certainly had the grades and the mentality, not to mention the intellect, to get in. Bakugo has been asked a lot of questions by the police, but he knows even less about this quirk than we do. He says Midoriya seemed to fall off the face of the planet after losing his mother."_

"Be that as it may, I will not send a child to die just to make him feel good about himself. With his current quirk, it would just be his fate."

Another stretch of silence. Another long sigh. A tired sigh.

"_...Shota…" _

His eyes widened, just a bit. Despite Toshinori insisting his friends and comrades call him by his given name, he'd never once called Shota by his own.

"_Tell me. Hypothetically, what if the boy's quirk operated differently? If he could use it at will, and not just under threat of death. Would you consider taking him?"_

Shota pondered it for a moment, thrown off a bit by the sense of gravity Toshinori had given the conversation.

"It… it would still be hard for the kid. He'd struggle to catch up. Keeping pace with his classmates would be virtually impossible for a long time."

"_But you would consider it?"_

"Yes."

The third pause. No sigh to accompany it, not this time.

"_Aizawa, tonight, you will come to know a secret that very few people alive know about. I am trusting you to keep quiet about this."_

A fourth pause. The longest so far.

"_It is time… time you knew the story of my quirk. The story of __**One for All**__."_

* * *

Green eyes snapped open. They looked around the room warily, looking for danger. This was not the first time Izuku had woken up in the hospital room, but it was the first time he had been fully aware of his surroundings. If he had to guess, based on the morning sun peaking through the windows, he had woken up sometime last night, and had been in and out of consciousness since then.

His memories were disjointed and confusing. He remembered being afraid, but happy too, in an odd way. A girl, tears in her eyes and blood on her face, telling him words he had forgotten he'd needed. A boy, tall and resolute, telling him to get to safety. The odd creature, beating him again and again and again. All Might…

Izuku snapped out of his thoughts when his eyes landed on the chair beside his bed. There, curled up with her knees to her chest in the seat, was the girl who had said those words. The one who snapped him out of the void, if only for a moment. The one he'd tried to help. He had failed, remembering the blood coated to her face, but she looked to be in good health. She seemed to be asleep, her cheek pressed up against her knee as she breathed slow, deep breaths.

Something about the image made Izuku flustered, but also gave him an odd feeling of peace as he watched her. He remembered shoving her away from that… monster. Everything after that was blurry. Everything, except…

"_I don't know you, I don't know who you are… but to me, you're a __**hero**__!"_

He remembered everything about that moment. The shock, the disbelief, the pain. The hope, the joy… the determination to prove her right. He remembered every strand of chocolate brown hair, dishevelled and messy. He remembered every feature of her face, tear-streaked and bloody. He remembered her coffee brown eyes, terrified and hopeful.

She… she was _beautiful._

Even now, he could only stare. The sun caught in her hair, looking as though it was still in the process of rising. It gave her a halo of light, making her look like an angel in a t-shirt and gym shorts. The blush on her cheeks that seemed to just be stuck there, the slight snore she had…

It was all beautiful to Izuku.

He had to snap his head forward, feeling disrespectful for staring. Confusion hit him the moment her image stopped preoccupying his mind. Why was she here? To thank him? That seemed most likely, he assumed sadly. This was out of a sense of obligation, it was the most probable reason.

..._but what sense of obligation drives someone to come visit at six-thirty in the morning?_

In any case, all he could do for the time being was turn his head forward and eat the breakfast meal that had been left for him. Pancakes. They seemed very Western to the young man, but he wasn't going to complain. They had already been cut for him, in fact.

Half-way through his meal, he heard stirring from his right. The girl was waking up.

She stretched a bit, Izuku having to turn away when her shirt went up past her navel for a moment, before letting out a sigh. She looked at him for a moment, half-lidded eyes meeting his with a look of confusion.

Looking back, Izuku did find a certain level of humor in the way the realization hit her.

It was slow, starting in her eyes, which widened slowly. Her natural pink blush turned red, and her words were slow, stuttering.

"A-a-ah! Y-y-y-you're aw-awake! I-I-I…" She took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry I was asleep!" She said, her tone much chipper and more cheerful than it was. She gave him a rueful, but good-natured smile, as she scratched the back of her head nervously. "I was hoping you would wake up a bit later… I hadn't planned on sleeping in the first place, but when it hits ya, I guess it hits ya…" She followed it up with a nervous chuckle.

Izuku just stared, his own face burning. He stuttered a few incomprehensible sounds, his mind effectively blank.

...She didn't seem to mind, though.

"It is great to see ya awake, y'know? I've been visiting every day since you've been open to having them, but we finally heard that you actually woke up last night! I came here as soon as I got the call from the doctor about it! It was… well, around midnight… that's why I'm in my…" she trailed off, glancing at her very loose fitting, _very _informal clothes. Her face darkened a bit more. "I… uhm… I'm really sorry about my choice of outfit, it didn't even occur to me, y'know?" More nervous laughter, until brown eyes met green once again.

Izuku was at a loss. She had visited him. Every day. She came in the middle of the night, not even stopping to change clothes. This was the first person to show him kindness since… since his mother.

_Damn it, Izuku! She deserves a response, at least! Anything!_

Glancing down at his hospital gown, and regarding the conversation at hand, he simply said what came to mind first.

"I- oh- I… it's fine! Your clothes are fine! I-I mean, I'm kinda naked anyway, basically."

There are moments in life when you will be reminded of your own shortcomings.

Sometimes these moments come as gentle reminders. Sometimes, they were harsh wake up calls.

_Sometimes_ you tell the future love of your life that you are naked, in the first understandable string of words you manage to choke out.

And thus, Izuku Midoriya would be reminded, for neither the first or last time, of perhaps his greatest shortcoming.

_You have no idea how to talk to people, you dolt!_

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but no words escaped him. His face was burning, his eyes were as wide as saucers, and he couldn't even bring himself to face her.

A moment of silence stretched out, neither speaking.

Then a _very _not girlish snort came from the girl.

Izuku glanced over in surprise to see her doubled over, shaking with barely contained laughter, her eyes squeezed shut, desperately trying to hold it in. Then, the dam broke.

That was how Izuku came to realize that, despite her snort, Ochako had a really, _really _girly laugh. He found that he loved it, even if the first time he heard it was, more or less, at his expense. After a moment, he cracked a bit too, a small laugh escaping him. It was… surprising to him. He hadn't laughed in a long time. A very long time.

After a moment passed, she looked back at him, taking a moment to regain her composure, before giving him a soft, kind smile.

"Why don't we just start over?" She said, before perking up. "My name's Ochako Uraraka! And you're Midoriya, right? Izuku Midoriya?"

Thrown a bit, he nodded stiffly. "Y-yes, I am. How… how did you know my name? Do the doctors know?"

Ochako nodded. "One of my classmates ID'd you. He said you two knew each other as kids? Katsuki Bakugo?"

"_Tell me, Deku, does it burn?"_

"_Ka-Kacchan!"_

"_Does it? DOES IT?!"_

"_K-Ka-... Kacchan! Pl-... please stop! You're g-going too far!"_

"_ANSWER MY QUESTION! DOES IT BURN?!"_

"_YES! IT BURNS! IT BURNS!"_

"Dek-... Midoriya?" A soft voice called him back to reality. He fluttered his eyes a few times, the memory still fresh in his mind. He looked to Ochako to see her watching him with concern.

"A-ah, sorry!" He gave his best attempt at an assuring smile, though it didn't seem to do the trick. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised Kacchan got in to UA."

"Kacchan? That's so cute, you gave him such a cute nickname?!" She said, her eyes lighting up.

"W-well, y-y-yeah… we were friends, after all."

"Awwww! So, is that where Deku came from, too?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ochako realized she had made a mistake. Izuku stiffened, his eyes falling to his lap. She didn't quite understand, until she considered the implications of a quirkless boy being nicknamed _Deku_. Weak, defenseless… useless. It was the kind of thing Bakugo would call a person like Izuku. Ochako went to apologize, before being cut off by Izuku's voice.

"I'm… I'm quirkless, you see. I-I… uh… it's just that when Kacchan fo-found out, he… well… you know how he can be, I suppose," he didn't meet her eyes, his words soft and quiet.

"Quirkless?" She asked, her mind flashing images of the boy shrouded in green flames. Suddenly, her tired mind recalled Katsuki's words.

"_He didn't have quirks back then."_

"Y-yeah… I always wanted to be a hero growing up, just like Kacchan did. I… I think in some way it kind of frustrated him that we wanted the same things, when he had the tools to get there and I… didn't…" Izuku said. "I… I'm s-sorry…"

His sudden apology caught her off guard. He sounded far too genuine. As though his mere existence was something worthy of being apologetic for. And the way he talked about himself, the way he said the word _quirkless, _something about it struck her deeply. A thought occurred to her.

"Midoriya, how well do you remember what happened, after you… saved me?" He made a face at that.

"Not too much, I guess. I remember All Might, and you helping me after I'd been injured. You had blood on your face though… guess I didn't do a great job at saving you," he said, an apologetic look on his features. Ochako stared at him, as though she were conflicted, unsure of what to say.

"Midoriya… I uh… I think I should go find your doctor… you have a lot to talk about."

* * *

Katsuki Bakugo had always been kind of a dick.

He was always okay, secure in knowing that about himself.

A shove here, an insult there. Most of the kids around him had been easy prey.

...One had always been easier than most…

At some point _kids _became _kid_. Only Midoriya was the target of his eire.

At some point, shoves became punches. Punches became sparks. Sparks became burns.

At some point, insults became shouts. Shouts became… something worse.

"_Take a swan dive off the roof."_

Katsuki remembered the day. The day he heard about the fire. The day Auntie Inko died.

The day Deku left his life forever.

...Until five days ago, when Katsuki watched the broken boy he once knew piece himself back together, bit by bit, bone by bone.

The boy he'd made fun of for being powerless, just to come and find that the kid had the power of a _god_.

He told the police everything he could, but he knew little. Deku's new… quirk, it perplexed him. Terrified him.

After everything, Katsuki was weaker than the child he had tormented for being weak.

The irony was not lost on him.

* * *

Ochako sat quietly, watching the green-haired boy as he stared at his hand, his eyes processing. The doctor had only just left the hospital room, showing the boy eye-witness footage of him using his power, his quirk, and explaining what exactly they thought it was.

She couldn't brush off the fact that Midoriya had looked… almost scared of the footage. Especially once the flames started.

"Midoriya?" She called out. No response. She leaned forward, touching his shoulder lightly. He flinched under her touch. Badly. The look of fear in his eyes multiplied for a moment before settling back down.

"Ura-Uraraka, sorry… It's just… kind of a lot to process, I g-guess…" he said, his eyes turning back to his hand.

"I imagine," she said, an apologetic look on her face. "I can't pretend to understand fully, Midoriya… I just haven't been through what you have. But even so, if you need to talk…" he glanced at her face as she trailed off. She offered him the brightest smile she had. "If you need to talk, I'm here to listen!"

This threw Izuku for a loop. She… she seemed so _genuine. _Izuku didn't necessarily have trust issues, but he was completely alien to the idea of strangers reaching out to him. Even so…

"I… um… I don't want to cause any… any trouble…" he said, his eyes falling low once more.

"It's no trouble at all, ya goof. If I can do anything to help, then I want to do my best!" Ochako said, her smile softening.

"It's just… you know that you don't like… owe me anything, right? I didn't… I didn't do what I did to indebt you or anything… I just-, I don't want you to feel obligated to do anything for me just because I saved you. I… didn't even do a good job, your face got all bloody," Izuku said, dejectedly.

"Midoriya…" Ochako began, but trailed off, searching for the right words. She gave a long sigh.

"Listen. There's a lot I have to say," a short breath in. "You saved my life. You spilled your own blood for me, and some of it got on my face. I wasn't hurt. You _only _helped me, you didn't cause me any pain." Midoriya was looking up at her now. "You saved more than just my life, y'know. It was me, my friends, my classmates, my teacher. You saved _all _of us. I meant what I said, when I told you that to me, you're a **hero**." Tears had come to his eyes. "You saved me, when you didn't even know you had a quirk. You had every intention of dying for some girl you didn't even know the name of. You saved the lives of a class of students, it's because of you that the school even knows about it. Izuku Midoriya, you said you always wanted to be a hero, but you're completely oblivious to the fact that _you already are!" _

Izuku broke down into tears at this, holding his face in his hands. After… after so many rejections, so many people telling him that he could never be what he wanted to be… it was hard to fathom that someone truly believed him to be such a thing. Distantly, he recalled the words of the woman he had loved most.

"_I'm sorry, Izuku." _

She would never see.

Tears of joy, at this stranger affirming him, and of pain, at his mother not seeing his development, streamed down his face together. His sobs were cut off by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Ochako standing over him as he sat in his bed, a sad smile on her face, matching tears in her eyes. All at once, he stiffened, as she pulled him close to her, into a soft hug. He shook as he sobbed, trying to relax into the unfamiliar embrace, but something kept him from it. One of her hands wrapped around, bringing his head into her stomach as he cried.

"After you saved my life… my friends' lives, a thought occurred to me." Her hand tussled through his thick hair comfortingly. "We are all indebted to you, Midoriya. We can never repay you. But this isn't about debt, or who owes who. All I know is what I want." Midoriya pulled back a little. Ochako had a slight blush from the closeness, but the determination burned like fire in her eyes. "Bakugo… he told us about you. He told us that you… didn't have many people. That you don't have friends." She took a breath. "I… _I want to be your first!" _Izuku was pulled back in, closer and tighter this time, sobs coming out harder than before now as he relaxed into her arms.

A friend.

He had a friend.

Izuku Midoriya would look back on this moment often, even decades later. This woman, who had known him for thirty minutes, turned his life around.

And he knew, there and then, as he sobbed his broken heart out, that Ochako Uraraka was the best thing to ever happen to him.


	4. Rise

Chapter Four

_Rise_

* * *

Ochako sat in her usual seat beside Izuku's hospital bed, waiting for him to wake up. The sun had yet to rise, but she wanted to get as much time with him from the day as she could. Her classes started back the next day, and while she could still visit daily, it would be for significantly less time.

Admittedly, she had grown incredibly fond of the boy, and very quickly. He was kind, if a bit shy and guarded, and very keen of mind. She could see his intelligence, brimming in his eyes. There was a certain kind of warmth to him that made her feel like she could stick around a while.

But there was a sadness too. As though his eyes didn't shine quite so brightly as they once did. It showed in very specific moments, she quickly learned that his past is a subject to veer away from. As kind a boy as he was, that was one topic he had refused, as politely as he could, to talk about. The scars and old burn tissue the had doctor mentioned said enough.

Yet, even through that sadness and pain, there was fire in Izuku's eyes. It shined brightest when he learned to use his powers in a conscious state, albeit to a fraction of the degree that he had used when they first manifested. At first, he could only light a small green flame in the palm of his hand, and his telepathy was weaker than his actual body. Yet, despite it all, there was a determination. The fire had been lit, and he would rise from the ashes.

A door opening snapped her out of her thoughts, and Ochako's eyes widened.

"M-Mr. Aizawa?" She asked in a stunned whisper, trying not to wake the sleeping Izuku. Her teacher gave her a curt nod.

"Uraraka. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see you, doctor says you've been here every day that they've allowed you," he said, casting his gaze to the green-haired boy. "You remembered our deal, right? You didn't tell your classmates his room number or location?"

"N-no sir. I didn't think so many people visiting would be good for him right after something so traumatic," she answered. He nodded his head in approval.

"Good. I plan to let the class come visit him, but it'll be broken into groups, and only apply to those who actually want to visit. Kid certainly doesn't need to be crowded." Ochako nodded her agreement, but froze for a moment, pensive.

"Mr. Aizawa? Why did you tell me where to find him, out of everyone?"

_Because if you hadn't been here with him, no one would have been. _Shota couldn't tell his student the truth. It wasn't his place.

"He dove in front of a blow that was intended to kill you. I figured you had more a right than anyone to know," Ochako nodded, but her teacher could tell she didn't believe his explanation. She was a bright one, after all. Still, she seemed to know that there was no use in pressing for information, so Shota chose this moment to try and gleam some information.

"What do you think of him?" Ochako looked up at him, furrowing her brow. She turned her gaze back to the sleeping Izuku.

"He's… he hasn't had it easy, has he?" Her voice was soft, her expression empathetic. "I dunno, I… I get the feeling he's seen a lot of heartache. I mean… You're the first person to visit him aside from me, Mr. Aizawa."

Shota gave a small hum in place of an answer. "What else?"

"Well, despite whatever he may have been through, he's gotta certain warmth to him. He's been very kind to me, and he has this… fire in his eyes, y'know?"

Shota simply nodded in response, looking down at the watch on his wrist. He looked back to see his student watching him intently. He gave a long sigh under her gaze.

"Look, Uraraka, why don't you run to the cafeteria for breakfast or something? I'd like a second alone with the kid."

* * *

Izuku's eyes fluttered open, the early morning sun freshly risen, basking his room in an orange light. Two things immediately stood out to him, first being his new friend's absence, second being the rugged looking man watching him intently. He had shoulder length hair, so dark it was practically black, and half lidded eyes that were a bloodshot red. Beneath one of his eyes was a scar, still rather fresh looking. His goggles, hanging around his neck, were what really clued Izuku in as to just who it was he was speaking to.

"I-Is it really… the Erasure Hero… Eraserhead?!"

One of Shota's brows shot up before he could stop it. _Kid really knows his stuff, if he can recognize me on sight. _

"Yeah, but for our purposes, call me Aizawa. I'm not here as a hero, I'm here as the teacher of Class 1-A. I wanted to talk," Shota was aware of how terse he sounded, but he had his reasons.

"Oh! So that was you!" Izuku perked up before his eyes fell to the man's new scar. "I'm… I'm sorry I didn't heal you better than I did."

"Considering you probably brought me back from the brink of death, we'll call it even, besides, if I've heard right, you weren't even aware you had a quirk until you woke up in this hospital. I can't imagine you have full control over it, even in that state." Izuku nodded lightly, watching the teacher carefully, waiting for him to continue.

"So, I'm going to ask a few questions. If you are at all uncomfortable, you have every right not to answer." Another nod. "First, can you use your power in a conscious state at all, since they've awakened?"

In lieu of an answer, Izuku stook out an arm. The chair across the room, a heavy recliner, began to shake before slowly rising to the air. It only lasted a few seconds before it fell back to the ground, and the boy had to wipe blood from his nose.

"The telekinesis is much more… limited than it was when it first manifested. I can move smaller objects around without much issue, and even things like plastic chairs are fine. But that recliner is about where my limit is, so I'd say about forty-five kilos? A hundred pounds? Definitely less impressive," He said, laughing sheepishly.

_Makes sense, _Shota thought. _He only just awakened his abilities. Frankly, it's impressive how far he's come with his telepathy in just a week, given he's been confined to a hospital room._

"What of your pyrokinesis? Any control over that?" Izuku's face fell, just for a second, but long enough to be noticed.

"I haven't really had any luck with the fire… I think it's a mentality thing, I… I've got a fear of flames, you see…" His eyes had a far away look to them, focusing on something long since past.

"I see. This relates to the house fire, yes?" Shota asked, trying to be somewhat gentle about it.

"Well… yes. I… I lost everything in that fire. I've always had a fear of fire, but after that… well, you could imagine." A silence stretched between the two, Izuku not elaborating, and Shota not pressing for more.

"Second question then, and the more important one," Shota began, giving Izuku a serious look. "What do you intend to do now? What will you do after you leave this hospital?"

"I… I don't know," Izuku answered, confronted with the question he'd been dreading. "I guess… I'll just be headed back to the shelter."

Something about his response was off to Shota. "Is that really what you want?"

"No. It isn't. But what choice do I have? Even though I have a quirk, it doesn't make me a hero. I can barely even use it. A hero who can only use the full extent of his power by dying doesn't have much hope," he said, head lowered.

_He understands the situation better than I expected. _"So you'll just give up? Head back to a shelter, get a job you don't care about?" Shota made his voice harsher than he wanted to, he needed to know the boy's response. "It seems like heroism wasn't that big of a deal to you, really."

"W-What do you mean?" Izuku said, looking up at the older man.

"You're so ready to just throw in the towel. You find out you have a quirk of exceptional power, but you don't even consider pushing it to the next level. It's disappointing. Why did you want to be a hero in the fir-"

"_I wanted to save people!"_ Suddenly, Shota could see what Ochako had told him about. The fire in his eyes. It was dim, subdued, but far from extinguished. A quiet moment went by, before the boy lowered his gaze.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't yell, I just… I've wanted to be a hero since as far back as I can remember. I wanted to be like All MIght, be like… like him. My whole life, I've only been told no, that I can't. My own mother didn't believe I was capable… I spent my whole life wanting to prove her wrong, show her that she could be proud of me, and then…" _Now she'll never see._

Shota understood the implications, and more importantly, he could see those flames, those embers.

"Look," he began, his voice softer now. "I won't pretend to understand anything about what you've been through. But, the future calls, Izuku Midoriya. I want you to join my class."

"...W-... Wh-... WHAT?!" The boy squealed. "I-I-I don't… I c-couldn't!"

"Why not?" The teacher asked. "Listen kid, there's a lot of people that want to become heroes. There's a lot of people who make great candidates for heroes too. Neither of those things are rare. What IS rare, however, is for a prospective hero to have such a selfless motivation as simply wanting to help. It's usually a matter of wealth or prestiege. If your only reason for dreaming of being a hero truly was just to save lives, then UA needs more people like you. It won't be easy. Rather, I suspect it will be the hardest academic experience you've ever faced. That's the case for most students, but you will be at a severe disadvantage. There's a chance you may never catch up to your peers, but… I want you in my class."

Izuku looked to his lap, at his hands. Hands that have saved lives. Hands that desired to save more. He couldn't… he was no hero.

No, not a hero. Just a delusional boy who had a stroke of good luck. His quirk was brand new, and he had next to no control over it. There's no way he could be in the same class as someone like Uraraka. She and the rest of her classmates represented the best of the best! The very best Japan had to offer! How was he supposed to-

"_**Hey hey, little Izu."**_ Izuku didn't know why he heard that voice then. It didn't make sense. Why think of _**him**_ now? He had been able to avoid it for so long.

...A hero. He wanted to be a hero. Not a glorified celebrity, or a money hunting wannabe. He wanted to show the world what a true hero is. Someone… Someone who does the right thing, _for no other reason than the fact that it's the __**right thing**__._

"I'll… I'll do it."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

Shota nodded in approval, though he couldn't help but wonder to himself. The boy seemed possessed by doubt, but in an instant, all that doubt seemed to vanish. His fists were clenched. Green fire burned in his eyes.

"Good. Now, someone will be by later today. They'll have another serious talk with you on a matter relevant to the school. Your talk with them… It will be far more important than your talk with me."

With that, Shota made for the door, pausing for a second after opening it. He turned his head back, facing the boy with only his eyes.

"The future calls, Izuku Midoriya. You can be something greater than you are now. Come with us. _**Rise above**_ _the ashes of your past life_, and become the hero you have always longed to be."

* * *

After leaving the room, Shota took a breath. After speaking with the boy, he could see that this was a worthy candidate. Toshinori had told him all he needed to know, trusting Shota's judgement on the matter.

In a sense, it looked as though Shota would be choosing the next inheritor of **One for All.**

Sitting outside the hospital room, in a chair provided by one of the doctors, he found a familiar sight waiting.

"Uraraka," the girl's head snapped toward her teacher. "Walk with me."

She nodded and walked alongside her teacher as he made for the exit, obviously wondering why he had asked her along with him.

"Tomorrow," he began, hopefully providing answers to her questions. "I want you to come straight here. Don't worry about missing class. I'll send the work and the notes to your dormroom."

"O-oh, okay! But… why?" She asked, voice hesitant.

"The majority of the class will be visiting him tomorrow at some point or another. I think it would be best for him to have a familiar face around. Don't want to put too much pressure on him at once now, do we?"

"No, sir. No we don't. I'll do it," Ochako replied, voice containing some happiness at getting to know this boy better. "Mr. Aizawa?" He turned to face her. "De-... Midoriya, what… what happened to him? Why has no one else visited him?"

Shota was quiet for a moment, before taking in a breath. "It isn't my place to say. If he hasn't told you yet, I think it's clear he isn't comfortable yet." Ochako's face fell, just for an instant. "Lighten up, kid. I'm sure he'll tell you once he becomes more familiar with you. You'll have plenty of time, once he's in 1-A." He said the words casually, easily, not even breaking his gait. The same could not be said for Ochako.

"WHAT?! He's gonna be in our class?!" She asked, rather loudly. "Are you sure? He's definitely got the spirit of a hero, but… I don't wanna see him thrown into something he is unprepared for. Pulling him in at this point would place him at a major disadvantage, compared to the rest of us." Despite her concern for her new friend, some part of her was rather elated by the thought of him being her classmate.

"When I walked in there, do you know what I saw?" Her teacher asked. Ochako shook her head, curious as to where he was going. "I saw exactly what you described. A boy who has seen a lot of heartache. He's known a lot of loss, more than anyone his age should. But theres a fire in him… no matter how dim, it's there."

"Y-yeah. I get the feeling he's gotta lot of fight in him, deep down. It just feels like something has subdued a lot of that spirit," she said, eyes cast to the floor.

Shota stopped in his movement, freezing in the hallway, eyes locked on the exit door but unfocused. "Maybe so. But life has a great deal of pain. A great deal of loss. Ultimately, what you make of your life is determined by how you deal with that loss. And that, kid, comes down to a single choice."

She stared at her teacher, waiting, anxious to hear what he had to say.

"You can let that pain defeat you, break you, crush your spirit. You can let that pain define who you are, you can let it destroy the person you were. That pain can be your end. For many, it is," he turned to face his student, eyes glowing. "Or you can choose to **rise**. Become more, fight back. Determine for yourself who you are, and choose to not be defined by your pain."

Shota began to walk for the door, leaving his student in silent contemplation, before calling back over his shoulder. "Izuku Midoriya will rise. He will rise above his past. He will rise above his pain. He can, and will rise above his disadvantage at UA. He has fire, but I think you and I have only seen a few kindles compared to what he really has."

With that, her teacher was gone, leaving Ochako staring down an empty hallway. Slowly, a smile came to her lips.

_He's right… I can feel it. Deku… he will rise to heroism._

A moment passed, and she began to head back for his room.

_He will rise to heroism, and I wanna be there for every step of the way._


	5. One For All

Chapter Five

_One For All_

* * *

"**You've seen the news, haven't you?"** The boss asked. There was a stretch of silence.

"_Yeah… 'course I have…"_ the voice replied, gruff and annoyed.

"**That boy seems to be everywhere you look now, I've heard a great deal about him… Izuku… oh, forgive me, my memory abandons me in my old age, what was his last name again?"**

"_...Midoriya… Izuku Midoriya…" _there was hostility in his tone now. The boss was mocking him.

"**Ah, yes. The boy seems to have come a long way since the last time you saw him…"**

"_Yeah, seems the little shit has."_

"**You know, after this, he may well try and become a hero. Imagine, if you had to reunite with him under such conditions."**

"_I'd kill him. You know I would."_

"**Without second thought?"**

"_...If the kid wants to wear the costume so badly, he can get buried in it."_

* * *

"Hey, Midoriya! Mr. Aizawa told me the good news!" Her voice seemed to cut the boy from his thoughts. "You'll be a part of my class! I'd love to show you the ropes."

Izuku looked up from his bed, giving her a shy smile. "So, you really think I'm cut out for it?"

Ochako blinked twice. "Well, yeah. You already have the drive and instincts, as well as an extremely powerful quirk, if you could get a handle on it. I'd say it could one day become stronger than almost anyone's in my class, including my own."

Izuku perked up immediately. "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask! What exactly is your quirk?" He didn't miss how her eyes fell. Slowly, she rested all five of her fingers on a cup before holding it over their heads and letting go. There it remained, suspended in air.

"It's called 'Zero Gravity'. Pretty self-explanatory, I guess," she said softly, her stance tightening.

"That's… You're so _cool!"_ Izuku said, excitedly.

"Eh?"

"Zero Gravity! I mean, that has to be super great for rescue operations and the like, right? Is there a limit to the weight of the objects you can use it on?" He asked, completely missing how shellshocked she appeared to be.

"I-... Uh-... About six t-tons?" She said, clearly flustered.

Well, clearly to everyone save this boy.

"That's _amazing! _There are so many uses for something like that!" He began.

"Um, th-thanks…? B-but i-i-it really isn't that impr-"

"Just imagine the possibilities! Rescues, natural disasters, anything in between! Oh does it work on people?! Holy whoa imagine how good it could be for villain apprehension! There's so many possibi-"

"_Midoriya!"_ Her voice cut him off. She had a slight blush, though she couldn't seem to meet his eyes.

"I-I'm glad you think so highly of it, but my quirk _really _isn't special. It isn't powerful, or good for fighting. It can be used on people, yeah, but it isn't nearly as strong as some others," she said. Her tone wasn't so much sad as it was… accepting. Something about that struck Izuku badly.

"I… disagree," she looked up, questioning, and suddenly he now found it hard to meet her eyes. "I just… Well… Your quirk may not be powerful in the traditional sense, but it seems to me that it's because it's not as straightforward as some others, and I think that's an advantage."

"How do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, for one, I think it'd be great for rescue situations. The ability to move debris could be very useful. But in something like a fight against a villain, well… essentially, if you can touch them, you win. I'm guessing the quirk activates when all five of your fingers make contact."

"Y-yes. How did you know that?"

"Well, for the past week, you never put all five of your fingers on anything you touched. You did it just now on that cup and it began to float," he said with a shrug.

_Hmm, _she thought. _He's perceptive_

"It just seems like there may be a lot of applications most people wouldn't even think to consider. Sure, it may not have the raw power of some others, but most serious villains have probably dealt with a lot of quirk types before. The really bad ones have experience against strength and enhancement types, and other more common, stereotypically powerful ones. Yours is one that most people are sure to have never encountered before, and that is a huge advantage for you," he spoke quickly, in the way she'd found him keen to do, but for once she didn't cut him off. She took in every single word.

"You… You really think so?" She asked, eyes wide.

"For what it's worth, yeah. You have a unique quirk, one that has a lot of varied uses!" He said, a smile bright on his face. "Besides, in my opinion, what quirk you have doesn't matter. What matters is how you use it. Any quirk can be powerful, if you use it right."

Ochako stood stock still for a moment, almost in a daze. Whether she would like to admit it or not, she'd always housed insecurity over her quirk, for as long as she could remember. Especially compared to the two top students of her class, and their ridiculously powerful quirks, and even some of her friends, like Yaoyarozu and Iida.

It took Izuku a few minutes. A few minutes to turn her insecurity on its head. It wasn't erased completely, it still lingered, but she found it to have weakened greatly. She watched as the boy turned to face the window, muttering about quirk applications to himself, holding his hand over his mouth, lost in thought and utterly unaware of the effect his words had on her. He didn't revel in her expression, nor did he seem to derive any sense of superiority from trying to help her. He simply seemed happy to see her feel better.

This boy, in his gown, with his messy hair and freckles…

"Hey, De-... Midoriya?" She called. He turned to face her, to find a smile on her face

"_Thank you."_

* * *

"Izuku Midoriya?" A voice called from the doorway to the room. Both the occupants turned to find a nurse peering in. "You have a visitor. Someone from UA? Would you like us to send him in?"

"Oh, uh… sure?" He responded, rubbing his neck, suddenly nervous. The nurse smiled kindly before leaving the room. Izuku turned to face Ochako, a face of terror donning his features. "Ummmm… do you have any idea who this will be?"

Ochako gave him a friendly, if apologetic, smile. "Sorry, Midoriya… I'm afraid I have no idea." Izuku nodded acceptingly.

"Oh well. Eraserhe-... Mr. Aizawa said something about someone else coming by, I've been wondering," Izuku began. The door opening cut him off.

Both teens donned confused faces. Izuku hadn't known who to expect in the first place, and Ochako imagined it could have been the principal, or perhaps one of the other heroics teacher, hell, maybe even All Might himself, but she had no clue who this was.

The man who'd entered was… extremely tall. He had to be at least seven feet tall, though his slouch made him appear somewhat shorter. Even so, he towered over both of them. Yet, he was gaunt, almost skeletal. His eyes and cheeks were sunken in, his clothes hang loosely from his body, and his hair was ratty. He looked like he would blow away with a light breeze.

Thinking about it, she realized that she _had _seen this man around UA, though she supposed he just hadn't stood out to her before… something about this man did strike Ochako as… strikingly familiar.

"Ah, Uraraka, right? Your teacher told me I'd probably see you here too," the man said. Despite his frame, his voice had a certain strength to it, and like the rest of him, she found it oddly familiar.

"Oh, um… it's good to see you, sir, but um, do we know each other?" She asked, trying not to offend him. Luckily, he seemed to take humor from it.

"I doubt you would know me, but I do know of you. After all, you got third place in the entrance exams for heroics. Believe it or not, score like that gets you some renown, kid," he said, smiling good naturedly. Before Ochako could muster a flustered response, the man turned his attention to Izuku.

"Now, you two can call me Mr. Yagi, and Midoriya, I would like the chance to speak with you," he said.

"O-oh! By… by all means, Mr. Yagi!" Izuku said, rather loudly. The lanky man chuckled good-naturedly.

"Ah, no need to be nervous, kid. I'd just like to ask you something, is all. I'm not someone you'd consider terribly important at UA anyhow, so try to relax," he said, though not unkindly.

"Now, I only really have one question," he continued. "When you charged in, throwing yourself in front of a blow that, as far as you knew, was going to kill you, just to save Uraraka here. I just want to know, what were you thinking? What was going through your head?" Yagi asked.

"I…" Izuku began, before trailing off. Both of his visitors were watching him intently, Ochako having wondered the same question to herself already, and curious to see his answer.

"I don't really know, sir," he said, looking down sheepishly. "I'm sorry if that's not the best answer, but honestly, I… I don't think I had a single thought in my mind. It's like… it's like my body… just started-"

"Just started moving?" Toshinori finished for the boy. Izuku nodded, and he continued. "Young man, you may not realize it, but every hero's rise to greatness, every one of their stories begins the same way; their bodies' move before they have a chance to think about it."

Toshinori watched this boy look up at him, as though struck by wonder. Even after a week, it seemed the kid wasn't used to his dream being affirmed.

"Here," he said, giving the boy a small parcel. "I baked it myself. Think of it as a get well present."

Izuku took the parcel to find a cookie inside. "Oh, thank you, sir!" Without a second thought, he bit into it, just to be struck. Something about it was off… the taste wasn't bad, perhaps a little bland, but the second he bit in, it was like… It was like the wool from his eyes lifted. Suddenly, he could see the world in a new light, and it was surreal.

"Ms. Uraraka, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but there are a few things I would like to talk to the boy about one on one," Yagi began, looking at her imploringly. Ochako nodded.

"Yeah, sure! I get it!" She answered, before turning to Izuku. "I'll see you soon, 'K Midoriya?"

"O-ok-kay…" he answered, still shaken from the odd effects of this cookie. Ochako looked concerned for a moment, but she stepped out, giving the boy a friendly smile as she exited.

"Young man…" Something about Yagi's tone was different. Izuku turned his head up. He could make out every detail in the man's eyes.

"Wh-... what's happening? What did… what did you do to me?" Izuku asked.

"It's like the world's always been black and white, and you're just now seeing it in color, yeah?" He asked, taking a seat in Ochako's chair beside the bed. "Suddenly, everything seems so much brighter. I've found that sight tends to be the first thing to catch on. The rest of your senses follow closely after. Your body may take longer."

"Mr… Mr. Yagi, that… that doesn't answer any… anything," Izuku said, his voice harder this time.

"I should have asked you, kid. I should have, and I'm sorry, but you have no idea how long… how long I've searched for someone like you. Ever since I heard about your sacrifice, ever since I saw what you did, just to help others… I knew that you weren't just some mere candidate. Something… deep in my heart, something told me it _had _to be you," Yagi said, his expression making him suddenly seem far older than he had been a few minutes ago. "I had no right to choose this path for you, and if you choose to give it up, I'll understand, that's your choice, but-"

"_SIR!" _Izuku cut him off. "I don't understand… what did you choose for me? What did you do?"

Yagi was silent for a time, as though finding the best way to word it.

"Young man, tell me. What do you think of **All Might**?" He asked. Izuku scrunched his brows.

"I… I've always admired him. Emulated him too, honestly. Wanted to be like him. But, what does that have to do with anything?" Izuku questioned.

"'Wanted to be like him', huh? Y'know, All Might's path is filled with blood. He's sacrificed a great deal to do what he does," Yagi posed.

"But he's saved countless people. When people see him, they feel safe. He… he can save people in a way few others can. He saves their lives and their souls. I'd give anything to do what he does," Izuku answered,

"...I have given you the power to succeed All Might himself, and one day, even surpass him."

There were moments of silence. It stretched on for quite some time, Izuku's vacant stare aimed at Yagi all the while.

"...W-w-wh-wha…?" He stuttered out, after about a minute. Toshinori took a breath.

"Kid, I am about to show you something, but I need you to stay quiet. Can you do that?" The boy nodded silently, his face still white with disbelief.

All at once, Toshinori's body began to shift. It grew, skinny limbs gaining muscle mass, his shoulders growing broader, his posture straightening and his hair following suit. Suddenly, his clothes didn't look so comically, oversized. Toshinori no longer stood in front of the young Izuku. He was staring at the greatest hero there had ever been.

_**All Might**_

"U-u-u-u-u-u-um-umm-uh….." Izuku found it hard to speak, his voice shaking and stuttering.

"**Young Midoriya," **The voice was booming, even when it was spoken in a soft tone. "**I have chosen you to be my heir. I want you to go on to replace me. Become the next Symbol of Peace, greater than the current one could ever be. With your own amazing power, paired with my quirk enhancing your physical abilities, as well as supercharging your own quirk… I believe you are more than worthy of replacing me someday."**

"B-b-b-bu-but…" Izuku took a long, deep breath. "I don't… I don't understand. What was in that cookie? How could I have your quirk? Why were you shrunk down earlier?"

"**To put it simply, my own power is diminished, and fading fast. I went against a villain a few years ago, and even though I won, I ultimately lost most of my stomach. Long story short, I can only maintain this form for about three hours a day," **before the boy's eyes, the giant of a man shrunk back down to his skeletal, and apparently, true form. "Rest of the time, I look like this. Some day, I won't be able to maintain my muscle form for any significant amount of time. My power is fading, and frankly, it'll be fading faster now that I've passed it on."

"...I knew so much about you, and yet…"

"Yeah, you wouldn't know about this. Only the staff at UA and a few others know about this form. To be frank, I'm telling you this in trust. This is… an important secret to keep. The Symbol of Peace has to be maintained, has to be this ideal. If people knew it actually looked like this… there'd be lasting repercussions. People have to know that they can trust in All Might, and who'd trust a body like _this?"_

"_I would!" _Izuku's voice rang out, getting him a wide eyed look from Toshinori. "S-sorry… It's just… bulked up or frail looking, you're still the hero that's saved thousands, if not millions of lives! What you look like does nothing to change that!" He sounded rather fired up now. "And… and I would be honored to have the chance to follow in your footsteps, no matter what it costs me!"

"Just like that?"

"...Just like that. Though, I'm sure there has to be people who are better-"

"I chose you. I know that it's a hefty torch that I'm passing, Young Midoriya, but it's one I firmly believe you can bear. Don't go questioning your own legitimacy before your path even begins!"

Izuku looked unsure still, but he gave a nod regardless. One thing still made no sense to him.

"You… you said you could pass on your quirk…?" He said, a curious tone to his voice.

"Right… It's time you come to know of my quirk. It's a secret that even those who know of this body are unaware of. Only six people know of this, not including the two of us," he said, sitting down and taking a breath. "The name of my quirk is… _**One For All.**_ It is an old power, able to be passed through generations, gaining strength with each inheritance. Izuku Midoriya, of this sacred torch, you are the Ninth to bear it. And with you, it will burn brighter than ever it has in the past."

"_...One… For… All…?"_

"That's why the cookie made your sight all odd. _One For All _enhances all of your physical capabilities while in use, including things such as senses and reflexes. It will also greatly enhance _Lazarus_… Young Midoriya, in time, you could be a real terror to behold for the villains." Izuku nodded, though he appeared to be mostly in a daze.

"All… All Might?" He asked, distantly.

"Yeah? What's the matter?"

"Why… why me?" Izuku looked down at his hand. "Maybe I did something good, sure, but do you really feel comfortable entrusting something so… so _monumental _to a kid who didn't have a quirk until a week ago?"

"In truth, the second I heard your story from Young Bakugo, I knew… I even went through the trouble of putting a strand of my hair in that cookie on the same night as the incident, because I _knew. _I can't explain how, but I know you will surpass me." Izuku looked like he'd be sick after the comment regarding the cookie, but chose not to focus on it.

"I… you really think so?" He asked, looking at this man, this pillar, this idol. Toshinori looked back, seeing the fire in his successor's eyes.

"With every fiber in my being," Toshinori answered, truthfully. "You'll have to keep _One For All _ a secret, whoever knows is instantly in danger. And, well… it's going to take you a long time before you can even use it, much less wield it properly. You're going to have to shape your body into peak condition… you may not be out of shape by any means, but you're much too slender to handle the repercussions of _One For All_ currently. UA will help a lot in that regard, and you and I are going to spend a significant amount of time independently working on it. For now, think of it as more of a buff to _Lazarus, _as you'll still be able to use it."

Izuku nodded, and once again it occurred to him that he had no idea what he was in for with UA. Still, he would simply have to give it his all. He was done fretting about whether or not he _could, _he simply decided that he _would _succeed, no matter the cost.

And so the two talked, Izuku trying to normalize himself with speaking casually to the man he viewed as a legend, and Toshinori normalizing himself with the geekiness, nerdiness, and dorkiness of his chosen heir. Yet despite it all, he knew he had made the right choice.

_Young Midoriya, my fire is fading, and one day, it will flicker out. But when the darkness takes me, I will rest knowing that your flames shine brighter than mine ever had. _


	6. Pyrophobia

Chapter Six

_Pyrophobia_

* * *

"You did _WHAT?!"_ The shout came. Toshinori, in his weakened form, winced under the verbal assault. "I was optimistic about being called here, I had hope that you had met with Mirio, and realized what a worthy candidate he made, but instead you _force _your quirk, on some poor kid plucked from the streets!"

Shota sighed, taking in the room. It was the conference room of UA, usually reserved for staff meetings. Today, an exception was made. Around the U shaped table sat a collection of heroes and noteworthy people.

To Shota's left was Toshinori himself, sitting between Shota and his old friend, a detective named Tsukauchi. On the sides of the table sat the others who knew of All Might, and the truth of _One For All. _ Principal Nezu, the old hero Gran Torino, and Recovery Girl all sat silent, expressions hard to read. Then, there was the one yelling.

"You had no right to enforce such a future on that boy, not when a better choice was readily available!" Nighteye had been shouting ever since he got the news.

"It… it wasn't forced upon him. If he didn't want the future laid before him, he had every right to turn and walk away. He would have simply given the quirk to Mirio. He would be able to pass it on," Toshinori said, eyes trained on the surface of the table. Nighteye's face twitched.

"And what if this boy kept the quirk for himself? Accepted your power, but only so that he could use it for his own purposes? You have no true way of knowing. That may well be what he's done, you fool! There is absolutely no reason for you to have chosen this boy over Mirio!" The hero said, vitriolic and outraged.

"I didn't make the choice," Toshinori said. This seemed to give Nighteye some pause.

"You… didn't make the choice… for the person who would inherit your very essence?! Who did?!" To this, Toshinori said nothing. Rather, he turned, casting his gaze to Shota. The Erasure Hero gave a tired sigh.

"It was ultimately my choice, though All Might here did meet the kid himself to see if he agreed with my assessment," Shota said, not wilting under Nighteye's critical gaze.

"Then tell me, _Eraserhead_," Nighteye said, voice venomous. "What did this Midoriya have that Mirio lacked?"

Shota was quiet for a moment, thinking on how to word his response.

"Both boys have this fire in them," he began. "Mirio's burns brightly, it does, but… Midoriya's is an inferno, a raging flame in the darkness. It's been stifled, stamped on, and nearly extinguished, but… the glimpses I've seen… the kid's embers burn brighter than any Pro I've known." Shota took in a breath. "It's not so much so that Mirio is unworthy. I just believe, firmly believe, Midoriya is _more _worthy. I'm sorry, but this is the kid who believed he was quirkless, but charged in to help my class anyway. This is the boy who threw himself in front of a blow intended for a _future hero_, despite having no power he was aware of. This is the man who had every intention of dying, and still managed to save both me and my entire class, in the end."

"Your decision wasn't rational, Aizawa," Nighteye said, a hard look on his face. "This kid's an unknown quantity. Maybe what he did was good, that doesn't change the fact that we do not _know _him. Mark my words, both of you," he looked back and forth between Shota and Toshinori. "That boy _will _fail. And I will pity him."

With that, the Foresight user stood, and walked out the door. Toshinori let out a sigh, mimicking Shota.

"He was a bit harsh, but he's got a point," Gran Torino said.

"To be frank, I don't care who you chose," Recovery Girl interjected. "The way you passed on your quirk was _wrong_. You need to beg that boy for his forgiveness. Regardless of whether or not he could have given _One For All _to another, the amount of pressure you put on the poor boy was terrible, especially after the week he's had…"

"I'm afraid she's right, All Might," Nezu said, though his voice was kinder than the others' had been. "I've no objection to Midoriya being your appointed heir, and if you two trust that he will be successful, then I have every ounce of faith in him. But, even if he did still have the choice, I fear that you made it seem like otherwise."

"It was a stupid way to do it," Shota said, simply.

"My friends," Toshinori started. "You are all correct. I had no right to do what I did, and I have every intention of correcting my error, and asking Young Midoriya for forgiveness. I just… I know, deep within, that he has more than what it takes. My hope is that _One For All _will boost his preexisting quirk, allowing him to be ready for UA despite the severe disadvantage he will be coming in at. I know that, given time, he can and will excel."

"I hope you're right, Toshinori," Gran Torino grumbled. "For his sake, and yours."

"I think Toshi knows what he's done, you all," Tsukauchi added. "He understands that what he did wasn't right. I think dragging him over the coals anymore than we have will only serve to breed bad blood."

"No," Toshinori interrupted. "They're absolutely correct. I've wronged that young man, and I intend to make things right."

* * *

Izuku was wide awake, despite the time. It was two in the morning, and he simply couldn't silence his mind. _One For All _ had very noticeably taken effect. All Might was right, it starts with the senses. Suddenly, Izuku could hear voices three or four rooms away, if he truly wanted to. He could smell food from the cafeteria downstairs, and he could make out every minute detail, even in the low light.

Apparently, all of these sensory abilities would increase greatly. He was only scratching the surface.

Luckily, All Might had taught him how to dampen his senses to a normal level, get used to filtering the stimuli. It was something the boy found he appreciated.

_One For All…_

Izuku hadn't told Uraraka about the truth of this encounter, just that a Mr. Yagi would be training him personally in addition to all the work he'd get in the hero course. She left at about midnight to head to the dormitory, the same one Izuku would be living in soon. Before leaving, she'd made Izuku aware of tomorrow. The idea of meeting her classmates was daunting, but he was glad she would be with him. Uraraka had only been kind to him for the past week. More than kind.

Izuku took a deep breath, frustrated that sleep evaded him. He looked to his hand, and reached within himself. It was odd, but he could feel… two distinct entities within him. He'd felt it since… eating that cookie earlier, but it was a strange feeling. Both entities were brimming with power, though one significantly more so than the other.

He called upon the weaker entity, and he felt it. An odd warmth flooded his body, and in his hand, a small green flame flickered. He looked deep within the fire, trying to make it larger, trying to force more out of this weaker entity, and get the stronger one to lend its power. He felt both entities pulse, the power increasing, the flame growing and growing.

"_It's okay, Izuku! I promise, it's all going to be okay!" _

The flame flickered out. Izuku could swear that he was burning. His lungs were on fire. He couldn't breathe. Ash was in the air. So much Ash.

Suddenly, he realized that he was just in his hospital room, the interior dark and quiet. Quiet, save for the sobs. _His _sobs.

This fire… he knew that, in order to become what he truly wanted to be, this fire would be pivotal. He had to master it.

Yet, every time he used it, he could only see her face, covered with tears and ash and soot, with a shaky, wobbly smile, meant only to comfort her small son.

And so Izuku sat alone, sobbing in both frustration and heartache. Alone. He was alone in this world.

"_**Hey hey, little Izu."**_

Alone. He was alone. That voice reminded him of that.

What did he have? His entire life crumbled with those wretched flames, the same flames he could use to destroy and kill. He wouldn't. He would never use fire, never.

"_Izuku Midoriya, you said you always wanted to be a hero, but you're completely oblivious to the fact that __**you already are**__."_

It was a different voice, this time. Not… Not like the one before. Not one that reminded him of his own worthlessness, his loneliness.

This one made him feel… strong. It reminded him that maybe, just maybe, this aching feeling deep within his heart would fade. It reminded him… reminded him…

The voice reminded him that now, he had a friend.

He looked at his hand once again, where the green pillar of flames had been. He saw an image of Mr. Aizawa, slammed through the metal plating of a bus and on the brink of death. He then saw the image from earlier today, one scar under his eye being the only reminder of the incident.

He did that. Izuku did that. His fire did that.

Izuku realized how selfish it would be, how terribly selfish it would truly be for him to become a hero and chose not to use every gift he had in order to help others. What if someone bled out in front of him, all because he refused to use a quirk that would heal them, simply because he had a bad experience with fire?

No. He would not allow it.

Green flames came to life in his hand. He smiled, the same shaky, wobbly, tear stricken smile he received from his mother that day.

Izuku Midoriya smiled through tears, as the flame in his hands burned bright in the darkness.

* * *

_Hey all, sorry for the brevity of this chapter. The next few will be a great deal longer, to be frank. Initially, this chapter was going to cover everything you've read, plus Izuku meeting the majority of 1-A, and ending with him finally moving in to Alliance to begin his new life._

_I chose to end this chapter here instead, for a variety of reasons. Mostly, I would rather keep a chapter short and well written, rather than long and draining. I also just personally enjoy the final line of this chapter._

_So, now I've a few questions. What do you all like about this story so far? Do you enjoy the foreshadowing, the imagery, the symbolism? Those are probably my favorite things to write in this story, save character moments._

_Also, don't expect this to follow canon at all. Some arcs may be from the canon, but they'll be radically different._

_I also want to make clear that Izuku isn't going to instantly be this unstoppable badass demigod right out the gate, despite his two exceptionally powerful quirks. It's going to take a lot of time, effort, and thought for our hero to unlock his true potential. He'll still struggle a lot throughout his journey to be the next Number One_

_Finally, I would like to credit fencer29 for giving me the idea of the confrontation this chapter begins with. While I had already planned on All Might kinda getting chewed out for his actions, it was his comment that gave me the idea of a meeting involving all of the people who know of One For All. Frankly, I enjoy the idea of them being a group that serves as support for the Symbol of Peace. So thank you again to Fencer!_

_Essentially, All Might forcing his quirk onto the young Izuku is meant to be a reflection of their first meeting in the canon. I like that their relationship begins with a (debatably cruel) mistake, one that All Might learns from. My headcanon is that, when they first meet in the actual story, All Might had grown bitter and __desensitized. In this one, he's more... tired, than anything, exhausted._

_Thank you for all your support, and I hope to see you all soon!_


	7. Friendships Kindled

Chapter Seven

_Friendships Kindled_

* * *

Momo had her share of flaws. She was all at once both prideful and riddled with self-doubt. She seemed to place herself above others often, and yet she often felt that she couldn't live up to her classmates. She was aware of her flaws, and was determined to work on them.

One flaw she never expected to have was impatience. That seemed destined to change today.

She sat in the waiting room of the hospital, clutching her head. If Mineta made one more comment about some nurse who passed by…

Luckily, the rest of her group consisted of people she liked and respected. The headstrong but friendly and outgoing Kirishima, his best friend, Ashido, and the nice and respectful Sero. It wasn't the worst group imaginable. Mineta was trying all of their patience, however.

They sat in the room, theirs being the first group Aizawa permitted to visit the green-haired savior of Class 1-A, their new classmate, Izuku Midoriya. He also told them that Uraraka would be there with him throughout the day, the two apparently having already become friends.

"Man, this _sucks_," Ashido complained, not for the first time. "How much longer are we gonna need to wait?"

"I dunno. I'm excited to meet the little guy, though," Kirishima responded. Momo smiled to herself.

"As am I. Though, to be frank, his situation does strike me as odd," she said. The others turned to her questioningly. "I just mean to say that it seems strange to bring him in a month late, rather than just waiting for the next year. I would think it would put him at a heavy disadvantage, no matter how powerful he may be."

"Then we just gotta help him catch up to the rest of us!" Kirishima said, a bright smile on his face. "He's definitely got the potential, if he can get a handle on that quirk of his."

"Have you guys seen the news?" Sero asked. "They've written tons of pieces on the story, and the kid specifically. He's… had a pretty rough go of it."

"What about the epitaph they gave him?" Ashido asked. "_The Hero of Embers_, tell me that isn't just the coolest!"

"Yeah, it's pretty manly," Kirishima smirked. "But man, it has to suck. He lost his mom, and his fa-"

"1-A?" A woman interjected. The group of five turned to find a nurse walking towards them. "He's ready, if you all are."

* * *

Momo knew next to nothing about Izuku Midoriya, so she had no real idea of what to expect. Something about him must have impressed Mr. Aizawa, though. Without realizing, she built up this image of a confident, charismatic genius, capable of using his sharp tongue to navigate any situation.

She was… off the mark in some regards.

It turned out that Midoriya was exceptionally awkward at first, and had some issues with self-worth. It stood out the most with Kirishima, the poor boy seemed rather put off by the red-head's verbose nature. Still, Momo thought, she could see why Aizawa was impressed. Beneath that awkward veneer, there was an intelligence that brimmed in his eyes, and he did have a charisma, though in his own way.

Her group had only just walked in, Kirishima and Ashido both anxiously running up to the bed, asking several questions faster than Midoriya could respond.

"Whoa guys, take it easy! You don't wanna overwhelm him," Uraraka called out, though her smile made known that she regarded the two very fondly.

"Oh, yeah… sorry…" Kirishima said, smiling sheepishly and backing up a bit. "Name's Eijiro Kirishima, glad to meet ya!"

"And I'm Mina! Mina Ashido!" The pink girl said. "It's so good to finally speak to you!"

"Oh, uh… hi, very nice to meet you…! My name is Izuku… Midoriya, but… I guess you already knew that, so... Yeah…" The duo stood still at his response, clearly not expecting him to be so awkward. The greenette had a slight blush to his cheeks already. A few seconds went by with no words, before Ashido chose to break the silence.

"Ohmygodthat'sadorable!" The girl practically squealed. Midoriya instantly started stuttering, face a deep red, as the rest eyed Ashido. "What? This ludicrously powerful dude is able to go toe to toe with an All Might level villain, but he seems to freeze up around strangers. Isn't that just the cutest thing?"

"I'm hurt, Ashido… I don't understand why you'd flock to him, while I've been here all along." Mineta said, clutching his chest, before narrowing his eyes. "Especially considering Uraraka has clearly claimed him as her own."

Suddenly, Midoriya's stuttering ceased. Uraraka stared at the little pervert. Neither said a word, as both their faces turned a dark crimson.

"_It's not like that!" _They shouted, perfectly in unison, before realizing that they'd been in perfect cease. The dark crimson became the shade of tomatoes.

"Sure, it isn't…" Mineta said, accusingly. "I'm sure that she's just been a great nurse to you, Midoriya… the best kind, eve- _hurk!"_

The small boy was cut off by tape, wrapping around his mouth. "I think it's time you be quiet, Mineta," Sero said.

"I'm sorry, Midoriya. I assure you that Mineta alone is this terrible, and that he in no way reflects the class you will be joining," Momo said. "My name is Momo Yaoyarozu, and I'm the class Vice Representative. I'm glad to have this chance to meet you, and formally welcome you to 1-A."

Midoriya gave her a kind smile, exhaling slowly and trying to get his cheeks to a normal shade.

"Thank you very much! I'm… I'm really glad to have the opportunity to join your class!" He said, smiling brightly. "I've always dreamed of being a hero, so the chance to actually become one means so much to me!"

Momo returned the boy's smile. "Well, I'm glad that we can do anything at all to return the favor, though I doubt the debt we owe you can ever truly be repaid."

"O-oh, there's no debt!" Midoriya said. "I-I didn't do what I did for compensation!"

Kirishima furrowed his brow. "So… if you don't mind me asking, why did you do it?" The boy turned his eyes to him. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful. We're _all _grateful, I don't think any of us would be here if not for you. We've all just been wondering what caused you to do what you did."

Midoriya looked down for a moment, as though thinking about his answer. Suddenly, he shrugged, looking back up innocently.

"It's what a hero would do."

No one in the room (save Uraraka, Momo suspected) had expected this response. He had such an earnest look in his eyes as he said it.

"So, is it true?" Momo asked. "Did you really not know you had a quirk when you jumped in front of that thing?"

Midoriya shook his head. "I've lived my whole life believing that I'm quirkless. I think I'm just as surprised by my quirk as the rest of you. My mom could attract small objects, and my… my dad could breathe fire, but neither of them were exceptionally powerful. My dad's fire breath was strong enough to be a pro, but even then, he never really was that big of a deal. They think that my own quirk is really just an extreme mutation, a supercharged mix of the two of them."

"Pretty cool, Midoriya!" Kirishima said, ever optimistic.

"For what it's worth, you've got the showing of a _legit _Pro. You're all over the news. _The Hero of Embers, _they call ya," Sero informed.

"Mm… those flames of yours do mean that you'll be perfectly suited for both combat and rescue ops. Aizawa said you can use your telekinesis in a conscious state, how is the fire coming?" Momo asked. She realized that she'd struck a chord. His eyes told her that much.

"I've made… progress. The telekinesis is a lot further along than the fire. I can lift up to around four… five hundred pounds, I'd guess?"

"Whoah!" Uraraka exclaimed. "The other day it was around a hundred if you were straining yourself! Way to go, Midoriya!"

Midoriya smiled as he thanked her, and Momo couldn't help but grin herself. It was obvious that he held a certain trust for Uraraka, despite not having known each other for super long. Awkward as he was, he seemed notably more comfortable with her than anyone else.

"So the telekinesis is coming along well, what about the fire? What's different about it?" Momo asked, curious. Again, she realized, this wasn't a particularly happy area for the boy.

"I… uh… I have a pretty bad fear of fire."

Once again, he caught the entire room off guard, though Uraraka seemed equally surprised this time.

"I suppose that makes sense, considering…" Uraraka trailed off, before a realization seemed to dawn on her, like something clicked. She leaned in close, whispering something to Midoriya, which made the boy stiffen. As she leaned away, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and sympathy, he nodded.

"Wait, so… you're scared… of your own quirk?" Mineta asked. "Dude… _why?"_

"Don't be insensitive," Uraraka said defensively. "His reasons are his own, and he definitely doesn't owe you an answer."

It was probably the meanest Momo had seen the bubbly girl be. She couldn't help but wonder…

"It's okay, Uraraka, thank you," Midoriya said, a gentle smile on his face, before turning to address the rest of the room. "I just… haven't had the best experience with fire, historically. I-if it's okay, I'd like to just leave it at that." The others nodded, none of them being callous to the degree of Mineta.

"Well, in any case, we're glad to have ya, buddy," Kirishima said, patting Midoriya on the shoulder. "We're also more than happy to help ya unpack tomorrow, once you get to the dorms."

"Ah, uh, t-thank you, but that really isn't necessary. I don't have much anyways, they said that they'd supply the furniture and move it in before I got there!"

_So, he's on the poor side? Low income?, _Momo thought to herself, before she remembered

"_No parents, no family, no friends."_ Homeless. He'd been homeless.

Momo looked up, trying to make eye contact with Uraraka, who was already looking at her. It seemed the boy's first friend had just connected the dots too. The two girls nodded, an unspoken agreement to keep the revelation to themselves, and let their new classmate disclose only what he wanted to.

Momo checked her watch, before getting the others' attention. "Hey, remember, Mr. Aizawa wants us back soon."

"Alright, Momo," Ashido said, before turning to Midoriya. "It was really great to meet you! I hope you like living with us!"

"Yeah, man!" Kirishima added. "1-A sticks together! I hope you enjoy being apart of our little… well, big family."

"F-family?" Midoriya asked, a look of surprise.

"Yeah, we look out for each other around here," Sero said with a smile.

"I truly hope you come to feel welcome with us, Midoriya," Momo said. "We'll all be here, should you need us."

"Th-thank you… really," The boy said, as though they'd been the ones who saved him.

"You got it!" Kirishima said.

"Bye, Midoriya!" Ashido called out, the rest following suit.

Now, with just Izuku and Ochako standing alone in the room, he could only stare at the open door.

He burst into tears.

_Family…_

Ochako sputtered, waving her arms about frantically. "Mi-Midoriya, are you okay? Did someone hurt you? Was it what Mineta said? Cause if it was, I swear, I'll grind that little perv down to-" She stopped when she saw his smile. Tears spilled over it, but it was as wide and genuine as possible.

"Ura- Ura-..." he stuttered, trying desperately to get the words out. "Uraraka, I have a… a f-family!"

Whatever Ochako was going to say died on her tongue. Suddenly, she found that she was holding back tears herself, as she pulled the green haired boy into a hug.

"Yes, Midoriya…" she said, a wide smile on her own face. "You have a home… with us. Assuming your waterworks don't put us on the streets."

The boy laughed, apologizing despite knowing that she didn't mind the tears. It was an odd feeling, swelling in Izuku's chest. A feeling of… peace.

* * *

Katsuki stared at nothing, though his eyes were trained on the ceiling. He sat in the Common Area on one of the couches. Today was the day, Deku was getting his visitors. The third group of the day was on their way back, and the last one would be leaving soon.

_The Hero of Embers…_

Katsuki lurched forward, staring at his hand as it began to sizzle. _Hero_… Deku had been called that so many times, by his classmates and the media. Katsuki hadn't been called that before. And the quirkless, powerless kid he once knew beat him to it. And now, they'd be classmates.

_A fluke… it's a fluke. He's gonna get here, and fail, because it was all a fluke. A power means nothing if you can't control it._

"Hey, Bakugo!" An annoying voice called out to him. Annoying, but Katsuki found it was the one that irritated him the least. "Last groups leaving! You coming, or not?"

"No, Kirishima."

This seemed to take the spiky haired boy by surprise. "What? I thought you said you knew each other? I'm sure he'd like to see ya! He's such a friendly little guy anyways!"

"Trust me, visiting him would be the worst thing for either of us," Katsuki said, ignoring Kirishima's look as he headed for his room.

_He's not better than me. He's not better than me. He's not better than me._

_He can't be._

_I can't lose to Deku._

* * *

"So, what do ya think of our class, De-... Midoriya?" Ochako asked. "The last group is Shoji, Todoroki, and Tokoyami, who are all pretty quiet, but they're nice!"

"I've liked everyone so far…" Izuku replied, his thoughts turning to the… energetic class rep. Kaminari and Jiro stood out to him as well, mainly for their friendly but antagonistic relationship.

"That's great! I'm so glad, De-..." Ochako trailed off, attempting to correct herself again before being interrupted.

"It's Deku, that you keep trying to call me, right?" Izuku asked, eyes cast downwards.

"Y-yeah…" Ochako answered sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I know it fits me, I don't mean to be demanding by not liking it…" The boy rambled on for a time.

"Midoriya?" Ochako asked, gently. He stopped talking and looked up at her. "Can I tell you why I keep making that mistake?"

"S-sure," he said, uncertainly.

"Well, I think it does fit you really well, so I refer to you as that a lot, in my head."

"Oh," Izuku said, looking down again.

"No, no! Not because you're weak! It's the opposite," she said, smiling, getting the boy's attention once again. "It gives me this feeling of _you can do it! _I know that it means weak, or defenseless, but I dunno… knowing that a boy called those things his whole life could rise above those labels and accomplish something more heroic than most Pros… it… it gives me hope, y'know? It's like, _if Deku can do it, so can I_, that kinda thing."

Izuku stared at her, wide eyed.

"So yeah, I do think it's fitting. To me, it embodies your very best attributes. Hopeful, inspiring, cute, encouraging, it makes me feel like everything will be alright!" She said, grinning to the boy.

"C-c-c-cu-... _cute?"_ Izuku asked, his face a deep crimson. Ochako's soon followed suit.

"W-w-w-we-well, y-yes, but, but… but no, but yes?! I-I-I… I do-don't… kn-know?" Ochako was sputtering now, desperately trying to hide her face and regain composure.

"If… i-if you call me Deku, I… I don't think I would mind," Izuku said, breaking her from her spell.

"Really?" She asked, face still red. "Are you sure? If it's going to upset you, I don't want to do it."

"I think… knowing what you mean by it, it helps. Like… like I'm the Deku who _can_, y'know?" He said, a slightly flushed smile crossing his features. "So… yeah. You can call me that all you want!"

Despite her embarrassment about a _little _secret influencing her words, she couldn't help but smile back at this boy.

"Okay… okay, Deku!"

She found that the buzz in her chest would linger much longer than she had expected.

* * *

Shoto watched as this 'Hero of Embers' stuttered his way through an introduction. He'd expected this, hearing from the groups before him that Midoriya was a rather awkward person, though everyone who'd met him seemed to like him. In truth, Shoto didn't have much interest in the boy on a personal level, but one thing was clear.

Izuku Midoriya could be a true rival.

With the Sports Festival coming soon, Shoto saw an opportunity. His father was still pressuring him to use his fire, to unleash his true power. But it wouldn't happen. He would win this festival, beat everyone who stood in his way, with only his ice. He didn't need the flames, and he would show Endeavor that in the way sure to outrage him the most.

This boy… Izuku Midoriya could prove a very symbolic point for Shoto. Many were sure to count the boy out, say that he would fail in the preliminary rounds due to a lack of experience, but Shoto knew better. He could see the spark of intelligence, the drive to succeed. Midoriya wouldn't fail so easily, no matter how inexperienced he was.

Good. Shoto wanted to beat him himself.

Anything to get one up on his dear old dad.

* * *

"So, here you go."

Aizawa spoke the words so easily, but Izuku couldn't help but be astonished.

His dorm was extremely spacious, several times larger than the room he had at his old house. It was a bit barren, but he had a bed, a couch, a desk, as well as a dresser and a television. The school had also provided him with a laptop, which he greatly appreciated.

What he appreciated a bit less was the stack of papers on his desk. It had to be at least more than half his height.

"Yeah, sorry kid," Shota said, seeing what Izuku was gaping at. "It sucks, but there is a lot you're gonna have to do. I told you it wouldn't be easy."

Izuku hesitated a moment, before nodding. "Right. I'm willing to do anything, I'm just wondering what all of this is?"

"At the top of the stack is the paperwork. In essence, the school will be taking over as your legal guardian, me and All Might in particular are going to be listed as your primary caretakers. The rest is… well, homework and classwork from the past month. I know it seems a little daunting, but it is crucial you shrink the gap between you and your classmates as much as possible. I'm sorry if this seems harsh, but don't rely on them. Not for this."

Izuku straightened, nodding again. "Right, I have to succeed on my own merits. That means catching up through my own diligence."

Shota repressed a smile. _Kid gets it._

"Your first class will be tomorrow morning, eight-thirty. English, with Present Mic." Shota could see the boy trying not to get excited. "And I know I said not to rely on your classmates academically, but don't be afraid to let them show you around and get to know you. Camaraderie is important."

"Yes sir!"

Shota turned to leave, after explaining the dorm rules to him. He brushed by someone as he left. He could tell that they stopped in the open doorway of Midoriya's room.

He heard the person speak as he walked away.

"_Deku…"_


	8. The Lonely Knight

Chapter Eight

_The Lonely Knight_

* * *

"O-oh, K-Kacchan! H-h-h-how are y-you?"

Katsuki grit his teeth, seething.

"What the hell are you doing here, Deku?" He demanded, not restraining the toxicity in his voice. He watched the smaller boy shake where he stood.

"Oh, a-after the… t-the incident, Mr. Aizawa offered me a pla-place in his class," Izuku managed to stutter out. Katsuki snarled.

"And you accepted it," He finished for the greenette. "That was stupid of you. You think having a quirk now somehow makes you hero material? Don't be an idiot. Give up while you can." Katsuki eyed him, expecting the typical routine from their youth. Either he would break down, or reluctantly agree.

This time, Izuku did neither.

He took in a sharp breath, and Katsuki could see tears threatening to spill. Yet, Izuku did not shrink down, or try to make himself smaller.

"Kacchan," the boy said, softly, sternly. "I'm sorry, but you can't stop me. Not this time."

Katsuki felt his eye twitch. His hand trembled.

"Listen, you shithead," he snarled. "You can turn around, right now. You can do something else, no matter how pointless it is, you'll at least fucking live. But, Deku, you're not stupid. You know they don't want you here. Nobody wants you here. They're all a bunch of idiots that feel like they owe you. No one wants you."

Katsuki turned, walking back down the hall as he added, "You keep treading this path, it'll burn you alive. You couldn't save your mother, you can't save anyone else, at least save yourself, so we don't have to."

With that, Katsuki continued his way down the hall, not turning to see what he presumed to be Deku's face of defeat.

What he missed was a face of stoic determination, not a tear in his eyes any longer.

"I'm sorry, Kacchan," he whispered to himself. "Even if you're right… even if I'm unwanted, I'll keep fighting. No matter the cost."

* * *

Ochako chewed her lip, somewhat nervously. She had no reason to be on edge, yet she couldn't help herself. She was going to be showing Izuku around UA, so he'd know where to go for his classes the next day.

She didn't know why she was nervous, Izuku was her friend, after all. It didn't make sense to her. She'd never been nervous around him before, she guessed it was just that it was his first real day here. She just wanted him to feel at home.

The nervousness evaporated the second he descended the stairs, and into the dorm's common area.

"Deku!" She called, smiling at him. Izuku looked over to her, returning her smile.

"Hey, Uraraka," he said, walking up to her. She narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong.

"Everything okay?" Ochako asked. He looked surprised that she'd caught on. Anyone else would have missed it, but she guessed she was just good at reading people. She could tell something was hurting him.

"Oh, uh… just some personal stuff?" He said, following her as she walked out of the building's door.

"I see," she responded, trying to choose her words carefully. "There's no pressure. I won't force you to talk about anything ya don't want to. Still, if you'd like to talk, I'll always listen."

He inhaled slowly, taking in the main campus as they walked. "Thank you, really. But, honestly, it's no big deal. Just a minor run-in with Kacchan. At least it was brief."

She stopped walking, turning and watching him carefully.

"Deku? Did he… did he bully you, when you were younger?" His down-turned face told her everything she needed to know.

"He's not a bad person, really. I just think he had a lot of personal issues, and it was pretty easy for him to take it out on a quirkless kid," Izuku said, not quite meeting her eyes.

"...And those old burns? Did he cause those?"

"Some of them."

Involuntarily, her fists tightened.

"And you saved his life. You saved him too, that day, even after everything he did to you," there was a tremor to her voice, an anger she couldn't quite explain.

"Of course I did," Izuku said, tilting his head to the side. "I didn't even know he was there, though."

"If it was just him, would you have still done what you did? If Bakugo was the only person in danger, would you still act?"

"Yes."

There was no delay, no hesitation in his voice. He spoke earnestly, bluntly, and saw no need to continue. She stood still for a moment, fists clenched, biting her lip, before exhaling.

"Well, screw him," she said, with a slight smile.

"Eh?" He stared at her, eyes wide.

"Screw that guy! He's a big ole' bully! Just a mean, mean guy!" She said, giving Izuku a friendly punch in the arm. "More importantly, he's wrong. I don't know what he said to you, but he's wrong. He always called you weak, but look at ya now! Goes to show you.." She stopped talking for a moment, staring him dead in the eyes. "_His words have no bearing on you."_

Izuku didn't say anything at first, and to his credit, he didn't cry either. He sniffled a bit, and she could _feel_ rather than see the relief flooding to his face.

"Thank you, Uraraka. Seriously," he said, a bright smile on his face.

"Of course, Deku!" She smiled in return. "Now c'mon, you're gonna get to see more of this great campus!"

* * *

"Master, who is this guy?" Tomura demanded. "He's annoying."

The atmosphere was stifling, the barroom air still and unmoving. Kurogiri watched, silently on edge. This could go wrong. He knew it could go very, very wrong.

"**Tomura, this is my lieutenant. His name is Ikarusu, and I believe a great deal could be learned by you working closely with him."**

Tomura scoffed. His master had never been wrong before, but he couldn't believe this. This Ikarusu guy didn't look too impressive. He was a bit taller than Tomura, though he was bulkier. His hair was a dark brown, nearly black, and he wore a long, black coat. His face had hard edges, his eyes sharp and intelligent.

"I'm annoying, am I?" Ikarusu said, his voice gruff. "Boss, do I really have to deal with this shit?"

"**Come now, Ikarusu. Tomura has limitless potential, my hope is that someone with your experience can shape him into a true leader," **the voice on the television responded. Ikarusu grunted.

"Limitless potential my ass. Kid doesn't know what he's doing. He had the Nomu, one capable of going toe-to-toe with All Might himself, and what happened?" He let the question hang in the air, lighting a cigarette and sucking in a breath before answering. "He lost it. Some random kid destroyed it. So much for a leader."

Tomura started scratching at his throat, the hand he wore as a mask not concealing the seething hatred in his eyes.

"Master," he said, his voice eerily calm. "I'm gonna kill him."

Ikarusu laughed, and walked slowly toward Tomura, breathing in deep on his cigarette, only stopping once he was a few feet away.

"You wanna kill me? C'mon, kid. Give me what you've got…"

He breathed out, puffing smoke in Tomura's face.

"..._Tenko."_

* * *

Ochako walked with her new friend, headed back for Height's Alliance. It'd been a few hours, and the sun had started to set, casting the world in a golden shade. She turned to Izuku to see him smiling contently, lost in thought.

"So, you like everything?" She asked. He blinked a few times before answering.

"I do. This school really is just as amazing as I've heard!" He exclaimed, boyish enthusiasm showing through.

"Glad to hear it! Everyone seemed to like ya today, Deku… I really hope you feel at home with us," he looked down a bit, though the smile remained.

"I… I think I'll get there, in time. I think… being with you the past weeks has helped me so much, and even today… the things Kacchan said earlier, they've left my mind, and I think you're the reason for that," he looked up, meeting her gaze and smiling even more brightly. "So thank you, Uraraka. For everything."

Ochako stopped walking, her face beginning to turn red before she managed to regain composure. "O-of course, Deku! We're friends, after all. Friends help each other, however they can, right?" Her smile was able to rival his own.

"Right!" He cheered, as the two friends walked forward together, basking in the fading sunlight…

...Blissfully unaware of the darkness that would soon follow.

* * *

Tomura sagged forward, coughing and spitting up blood. He was sitting halfway through a brick wall, several yards from where he'd stood moments prior. His ribs were cracked, his back screamed in his pain, and his head throbbed.

Ikarusu lit another cigarette, the cancer stick probably closer to killing him than Tomura had ever been. It had happened so damned fast. Tomura had lunged forward, his hands reaching for his opponent's throat, and Ikarusu had simply leaned back, and punched.

One punch had sent Tomura flying, hitting the wall with enough force to cave in a part of it.

"Y'know, despite what I'd said, your speed is pretty impressive," Ikarusu said, absently. "It's probably a derivative, huh? A lesser quirk, more or less. I'm guessing you rely on that to get in, and then your 'real' quirk takes care of the rest. Not usually a bad strategy, but it falls apart if your opponent is quick minded. You rely on your quirk too much. It's strong, definitely an A-rank, but it alone isn't enough to carry you. Anyone who is more experienced, more powerful, or both, as I am, will turn you into a laughing stock."

Tomura seethed, but tried to stay calm. Whoever this guy was… he was obviously far more powerful than he seemed. That, along with his skill, meant that Ikarusu was truly not a threat to be taken likely.

Tomura could play along… bide his time…

"Okay, okay… you win," he said, coughing a bit more. "Are you in charge of our little… gang, now?"

Ikarusu scoffed. "I just do what the boss man says."

"**Ikarusu here will be taking over as head, though this is only temporary. He has a new directive for you all to pursue, a… personal matter?"**

Ikarusu nodded once, reaching into his coat pocket and producing a photo, showing it to Tomura. "You recognize this person?"

The photo was from the Nomu attack… the green-haired brat…

Tomura began to scratch at his neck, remembering the humiliation he'd felt.

"I'm taking that as a yes," Ikarusu said. "Well, kid's name is Izuku Midoriya. Orphan. After his actions, he was more or less adopted by UA, he's a student there now."

"So what?" Tomura asked. "Why do I care about him?"

"You don't. I do. Our new directive, our only directive, is putting him in the ground," Ikarusu said, punctuating it by putting his cigarette out on the photo.

"**Tomura, are you familiar with the Pro Hero called Vulcan?"**

"Sounds familiar… didn't he go missing?"

"He was investigating the boss," Ikarusu interjected. "He got too close, so I killed him. Burned him to ash, to be more specific. Made sure no one ever found the bastard's body."

"**Vulcan's real name was Hisashi. Hisashi Midoriya." **The voice from the TV added.

"I see…" Tomura said, "And Hisashi was this Izuku's father?"

"Yeah. Shoulda killed the little shit years ago. Tried to, even," Ikarusu let his words hang for a moment before continuing. "After killing Vulcan, I was able to locate his family. Just had the wife and son. Burned their house to the ground, was able to kill the mom, lady named Inko. Izuku survived, the mom shielded him from the flames. I was fine letting him live when he didn't pose an issue, but now… my graciousness only goes so far."

"So, we kill this Midoriya brat, simple enough. Do you really need us for that?"

"He's at UA, one of the most secure facilities on earth. We could have our… inside man do it, but I would hate to expose our spy just for that. Truth be told, isolating, capturing, and killing Midoriya is going to take a lot of manpower, and will probably mean fighting several people who are on the level of pros," Ikarusu grunted. "Once he's dead, though, we'll be going back to normal. You can have your… League, and I'll be back at the boss's side."

"Fine…" Tomura said. "I accept. I'll follow you for now, Ikarusu."

The man in question simply nodded, making for the door before stopping for a moment.

"Oh, and by the way, while I'm in charge… we won't be calling ourselves the League."

"Oh? And just what _will _we call ourselves?"

The room was silent for a moment, before the answer came, gruff and blunt.

"The Fallen… The _Taoreta."_

* * *

_Ochako knew a dream when she was in one. She'd always been a lucid dreamer, after all._

_Never had she had a dream quite this… real, though._

_She trudged through the woods, the air frigid and cold. Snowy winds battered her harshly, howling in her ears. The midday sky was grey, cloudy, and she stumbled through the snow._

_Heavy plate armor weighed her down, the metal icy cold, her clothes beneath the armor not preventing the metal from chilling her to the bone. She did not know where she was going, only that she could not stop. To stop would be to surrender. To surrender would be to die. _

_She did not know that which she was running from, though she knew she could not turn to face it. Something within told her that were she to slow, she would certainly die. Something was closing in on her. And it was closing fast._

_Suddenly, she felt a warmth. Up ahead, she could see it. A campfire, small, but burning so brightly in the snow. She hurried her pace, her armored boots trudging heavily, clumsily through the deep snow._

_Soon, she arrived at the fire, sitting as close to the flames as she could, the leather hood on her head not doing much to hide the relief on her face. The flames were warm, welcoming, and kind._

_It wasn't until she looked across the fire that she realized she wasn't alone._

_A lone knight sat a few feet away from the fire, all his features obscure by his armor, his face hidden behind an iron helm. Yet, there was something oddly familiar about him. He seemed to stare at the ground, clutching a sword, leaning on it as he sat there._

_The fire beckoned, yet the knight did not sit close enough to bask in its warmth. He kept a good distance at all times, close enough to use the light of the flames, but never close enough to escape the bitter cold. _

"_You can come closer," Ochako called out, though she could not control her words. "The fire, it could preserve you."_

_The lonely knight glanced up, his helm masking any emotions he may have felt._

"_The fire will destroy me, as soon as it is able. Just as it has done to everyone else." _

_Ochako pondered his meaning, before looking around the site of the fire…_

_Corpses, charred to cinders and ash, burned to husks that only vaguely resemble human beings. The flames had devoured them, every last one. The lonely knight was all that remained._

"_There is nothing left. My death will come soon, whether the cold takes me, or the flames devour me. I suppose it's of little consequence, at this point. I guess… I've just taken to preferring the cold."_

_Ochako opened her mouth to rebuttal, but the image of all those people, destroyed by fire… it held her tongue steadfastly._

"_And besides," the knight continued, "You forget that which you run from."_

_Ochako gasped, and turned, finally seeing that which had pursued her._

_Darkness. An encroaching darkness, not created by the absence of light, no…_

_A darkness that seemed to swallow light itself, as it drew closer and closer to the fire, slowly, very slowly, but it was coming all the same._

_The darkness would snuff out the flames and take her._

_And the lonely knight would be lonely once more._

* * *

Ochako shot up out of bed, gasping for breath. The clock on her wall read two-thirty in the morning.

She began to sob, absolutely heartbroken from that strange, surreal dream.

She didn't even know why.


	9. ? ?

Chapter ?̸̢̨̞̫̩͙̪̗͕̭̮͍̟̹͐͛ͅ?̶̧̧̻̩̼̞̲̹̣̭̟̤͙̗̱̗̏ͅͅͅ?̴̨̮̯̲̹̹̥̻̖̤̦̤̤̖͓͙͂́̍̊͝ͅ?̵̧̡̘͙̖̮͓̦͚͖͇͇̻̱̝̰̠̓̌̈́̑̔̽͂̑̓́̅

_F̷͈͈̥̺̂̈̀a̴͉̍̈̇̀l̵̲̭͋l̸͗̂͜ ̵̧͈͗͆͛͛ò̴̢̧̪̯̑̍̅f̶̮̓͘ ̵̫̔͜ã̷̟́͝ ̷̺͕̹̻̑͂P̴̯̬̙̃̓ͅh̸̪͉̠̀o̸̥̞̜͇͐͌e̷̞͔̬̔̃͆n̷̯͔̻̫̾̃̈́͋į̸̯͎́́̐͝x̷̪͐͝t̵̫̏̌_

* * *

He rose to his feet, blood dripping down his face. Fire surrounded him, the night air stifling. He could hear the sirens, but he knew it would be a long time before any emergency workers would reach them. As he rose, he stumbled, blood loss truly taking its toll now. Green eyes took in their surroundings, though they were dimmer than they had been a few moments ago.

"D-Deku?!" A voice shouted. A girl's voice, anxious and afraid. Izuku turned to the sound of the voice to find Ochako staring at him, hiding behind the ruined remains of a car,, a look on her face as if she'd seen a ghost. To her side, he could make out Tenya and Shoto, both appearing to be unconscious. Ochako seemed to be better off, but her costume was tattered, her helmet broken, her body littered in small scrapes and cuts.

But she was alive.

"U-Uraraka…" he said, voice shaking, "y-you're okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," She answered frantically, "so are these two, as far as I can tell."

Izuku nodded, grateful that his friends still drew breath.

"Deku, we… we need to get out of here. Who… whoever he is, he's on a completely different level… we can't win," she said, tears threatening to spill.

Izuku looked around them. The explosion had been devastating, so many buildings had been obliterated. The once nice apartment complexes had become piles of rubble and debris. Screams filled the air, distantly.

"He… he isn't going to… he won't stop," Izuku said, weakly. "If… if he… gets away, more… more people will…"

"Deku," Ochako said, trying to make her voice as strong as possible. "You can't. You can't win. You _won't _win, Deku, please!"

"I… I know," came his short answer.

"_DEKU!"_ a new voice shouted, more masculine than Ochako's. Katsuki burst out from the rubble of one of the former buildings. One look and Izuku could see his childhood friend was in bad shape.

One of his shoulders hung loosely, most likely dislocated, and his hair was matted by blood from a blow to the head. His hands sparked, but in his crippled state, he wasn't able to get his quirk to do anything of value. The blond seethed.

"Deku, do you want to fucking die?!" He demanded. "He'll kill you! You need to run, get help!"

"And… and leave all of you? I… can't do that, Kacchan."

"To hell with us! If we die here, it will be because of our own damned weakness. The only one standing here is YOU, Deku! You have the ability to get stronger, to take him down one day, but if you do this now, you'll get yourself killed!" Ochako noted that she had never heard Katsuki sound so… desperate. He was terrified, she realized.

Almost as terrified as her.

A crash sounded behind Izuku, making him turn his back to them. She could see how bad of a shape he was in, the boy clutching an open wound, one of his legs forced to limp, the ankle useless. Still he trudged forward, and as she watched, he began to glow green.

She remembered what that entailed. He was going to die.

"..no," her rejection came swiftly. "No, no, no-no-no! D-D-Deku, you're too injured! If you do this in the state your in, you'll kill yourself!"

"The fire…" he muttered. "The fire will… my flames will heal everyone in the area of the ex-... explosion. Might even… take him with me, or at least hurt him badly… enough to force him to surrender…"

He took one shakey step forward, closer to the inferno caused by the explosion.

"Deku, you idiot! It isn't worth it!" Katsuki shouted. "Stop with your martyrdom, and do the _smart _thing, _please!"_ He was begging now.

"_Izuku!"_ Ochako cried out, tears threatening to fall. "Please don't… don't do this, don't…" She took a wobbly breath. "Please, don't leave me!"

He took another step forward, sparks from the inferno now landing on his shredded costume. He coughed, multiple times. His lungs burned.

"Why?" Ochako asked, not caring about how she sounded. "Why can't you just be selfish for once? Why do you have to do this?!" She tried to rise to her feet, but she instantly fell back down, her injuries too debilitating. She saw Katsuki struggle against the rubble he was trapped under.

"_Why do you have to go?!"_ She sobbed freely, openly.

The boy stopped in his advance, turning back toward his best friends of past and present. Both looked at him with such fear… such terror. Such… despair. They knew how this would end.

And so Izuku did the only thing he could.

He smiled, a wide smile full of teeth, even as blood seeped over his lips. A smile of hope and kindness, despite knowing what was going to happen.

"I have to go..." he began, smile persisting. "I have to go because I know a truth, Ochako." He closed his eyes, as blood began to fall over them, and even then his smile lingered. "I know a truth. And for that reason, I'm not afraid to die."

And so, he turned toward the inferno, stepping forward again, deaf to the cries of his closest friends.

Ochako watched in horror, as orange flames swallowed her dearest friend whole. She screamed at the void, praying Izuku would turn back, walk out of the flames, deciding he had changed his mind.

Then, a second explosion, even more fire than the first one.

Green fire.

She felt her wounds close, she felt her strength return to her, yet she did not feel the same sensation of warmth and comfort the green flames usually provided her. Instead, she felt cold.

The green flames swallowed the inferno, putting out most of the fire that had just been burning. She looked across the wasteland of destruction, eerily silent when moments ago it had been filled with the sounds of screams and flames. Ash fell from the sky like snow. Izuku Midoriya was nowhere to be seen.

Her best friend. Her dearest companion. Her love, was gone.

And the ash was all that remained.


	10. New Beginnings

Chapter Nine

_New Beginnings_

* * *

Momo was used to seeing one person, early in the morning. That one person being Shoto Todoroki. While she knew that Iida woke up earlier than any of them, he tended to stay in his room for a few hours, and the rest of the class woke up at around eight. Momo and Shoto would usually leave their rooms at around six, Momo going downstairs to start breakfast, and Shoto usually doing exercises while no one was around to see, save her.

He was polite to her, though he wasn't much of a talker. She'd wish him a good morning and he would answer with a nod, which was _something_. Still, she was glad to share the space with someone, as antisocial as they may be.

Today, though, there was someone else.

At the kitchen table, sitting behind a veritable mountain of papers and notebooks, was Izuku Midoriya. He wrote intensively on his current sheet of paper, not seeming aware that anyone else had come down yet. His green hair was more of a mess than it normally was, and she held in a chuckle at the sight of a pencil tangled in his locks.

"Good morning, Midoriya," she said, with a smile. The boy flinched a bit, startled from his thoughts.

"O-Oh, good morning, Yaoyarozu," he replied after a moment, returning her grin.

"That's quite a bit of work you've got there. I recognize some of the papers. Is this catch-up material?" She asked. "I could help you, if you need it."

"Thank you, but no, I need to learn to do it myself. So far it hasn't been too bad, I'm about halfway through," he said, nonchalantly.

"Already? When did you start? That's an entire month's worth of classwork."

"I started last night at around six and worked till midnight, then woke up at four and have been working since," Izuku shrugged. "Honestly, the bulk of the material has been hero stuff, based mostly around analytical thinking and decision-making. I've always liked that kinda stuff. The rest is gonna take longer, though. I've never been very good at math."

Momo blinked. She'd worried about him keeping up… had she underestimated him?

"Well, I'm glad to hear that the transition hasn't been too rough on you. Are you liking things, thus far? I know you haven't had too long to adjust…" She trailed off, leaving him to answer.

"I haven't been here long, but UA definitely lives up to its reputation! I'm ready to learn as much as I can about how to be a hero!" The boy answered, gaining a great deal of enthusiasm before turning toward the window, seeing the rising sun.

"Yaoyorozu?"

"Hmm?"

"What time is it?"

"...Six-thirty. Why do you ask?"

The boy seemed to turn pale, suddenly breaking off into a run, muttering about being late.

"Wait! Your schoolwork…" Momo trailed off, realizing he was out of earshot. She sighed goodnaturedly, collecting his things for him, ready to carry them up to his room for him.

She was unaware of the heterochroma haired boy who had been sitting around the corner of the room, listening intently.

Shoto was… frustrated, angry, and yet… he didn't know why.

* * *

"I'msosorryIwaslateAllMightIgotcaughtupdoingschoolworkanddidn'trealizehowmuchtimehadpassedI'msorryforwastingyourtime…!" The muttering continued for quite some time, All Might watching, a bemused expression on his weakened form.

"Relax, kid. It's okay, you've got a lot of work to do, I get that. Honestly, I'm impressed you're here so early anyways," All Might said, the early sun casting Gym Beta in a golden glow. Slowly, his amused expression fell from his face.

"Listen, I've been wanting to talk to you," that got the kid to shut up, the change in the Pro's tone being drastic.

"W-what about?" Izuku asked, nervously. All Might let out a tired sigh.

"I wanted to apologise. I wronged you, regardless of whether or not you see it that way. I just… want you to know that you have agency in this. You're under no obligation to continue on this path. Consider this your exit ramp, as it were, if you would like to do just that," All Might said, his voice staying low.

"No, I… I want this. I want to be the Number One, the next Symbol, if you think I can do it," Izuku answered, his voice filled with a quiet resolve.

"...Well, I think you're more than capable of it," All Might replied. "Just… I don't want to force my own fate on you."

"You aren't forcing anything on me!" Izuku's retort was loud, nearly a shout. "I'm… I'm here because I want to be. You and Mr. Aizawa, you gave me purpose… it isn't something I had before… before that day." All Might nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry for that fact, kid. You deserved more from life." Toshinori knelt before his successor, meeting him at eye level as he slapped a hand on his shoulder. "But you're here now, and you've got people in your corner. Don't forget that."

Before the boy could respond, or begin to tear up, All Might slapped his hands together as he stood straight. "Okay! How's it gone with your quirks?"

Izuku thought for a moment. "Well… _One For All _has definitely impacted _Lazarus. _My luck with the fire is… spotty, it's hardly reliable. Telepathy has come much easier to me, I can lift around five hundred pounds or so."

All Might nodded, thinking to himself. _Makes sense he would struggle with flames, given his past._ "You haven't tried to use _One For All_ itself yet, have you?"

"No sir," he answered. Toshinori nodded.

"Good. The blowback of my quirk can be… intense, especially if your body isn't ready for it. If you were to use it as you are, you'd probably break every bone you have.." Izuku's eyes widened a moment, but he understood.

"So… I have to work harder than anyone else here, both to catch up and to prepare my body for _One For All_…" he said, trailing off.

"Now you're getting it! Now, go get changed. You and I are gonna start doing some workouts! Normally, I'd use a ten-month plan, but you aren't in bad shape as is. Still… it's going to be hard, kid. The normal plan I use calls for ten months of extreme physical exercise. For where you are, I'd change it to be about five months but…" Toshinori took in a deep breath. "We're essentially going to be doing five months of intense exercise in the span of a single month. This, uh… this might be the hardest month of your life, physically speaking. Think you're up for it?"

Izuku had blanched a bit, the sheer weight of what he'd gotten himself into finally kicking in. Then he smiled.

"I'm ready for anything!"

* * *

It was ten o'clock when Tomura stumbled down the stairs. He found Ikarusu waiting on him, smoking as he always was, leaning against the bar.

"Mornin', brat," Tomura scoffed at his greeting.

"Those'll kill you, y'know," he responded, pointing toward the cigarette. Ikarusu chuckled dryly, much to Tomura's annoyance.

"Trust me, kid. These killing me are my last concern," he said, blowing another puff of smoke. They stood in silence for a few moments, Tomura out of spite, Ikarusu out of a lack of interest. Their one-sided tension was cut off by the sound of a warpgate.

From the black matter of Kurogiri's quirk, a man emerged before Kurogiri himself took shape next to him.

"I've brought him, as per your request, sir," The warpgate user said attentively. Ikarusu stood straight up, assessing the new stranger.

"Not bad. I'm honestly kinda impressed," he said, with a smirk. "I know how hard my guy can be to locate, and it only took you a few hours. Good shit."

"Who is this guy?" Tomura asked, ever impatient. The stranger turned to regard him, blond hair shooting in multiple directions, his blue eyes brimming with a certain… sadness.

"Forgive me, Mr. Shigaraki," the man said, politely and kindly. "I didn't intend to show up unannounced, but I was told that I was needed."

Tomura furrowed his brows, before turning questioningly toward Ikarusu. "Why is he here?"he asked.

"This is Akari Nakamura, though you may know him as _Kaiho,"_ despite himself, Tomura's eyes widened.

"This _guy_ is Kaiho?! The media thinks Kaiho is a terrorist organization! So many people killed, and you're telling me it was all _one person?!" _Tomura had grown in volume.

"Well, in the interest of fairness, I usually gave him the place. The destruction, though, the _devastation… _that's all his glory to claim," Ikarusu explained. Tomura turned back to find Akari's eyes were downcast.

"Just… tell me what you need, Ikarusu," Akari said, quietly.

"You, my friend, are after the grand prize. You are going to show up at the UA sports festival," Ikarusu said, a cruel smirk to his features. The room fell silent for a moment.

"You… want to attack UA? You gave me so much crap for my plan falling apart, how is this any better?!" Tomura asked.

"Because, we're going to _coordinate. _C'mon, kid, I give you shit but you _aren't _stupid. You got this guy's quirk figured out?" Ikarusu asked.

"People thought that Kaiho was a… terrorist group started by quirkless individuals. Kaiho literally translates to _Liberation_, and them being quirkless makes sense, given how they carried out their transgressions," Shigaraki reasoned. "They're known for using bombs, big, deadly ones. They were smart about how they did it, positioning it where no cameras would see, though how they got the bombs there in the first place was a mystery. Most suspected it was a quirk at use, but…"

Tomura turned toward Akari. "There were no bombs, were there? Your quirk creates explosions, doesn't it?"

Ikarusu nodded, impressed. "Good analysis, kid. Foster that talent, it'll help you out a lot. Our esteemed guest here has a quirk called _Devastation._ More or less, he blows himself up."

"And these explosions, they don't hurt you?" Tomura asked Akari.

"They do. It… I… I'm only useful as a car bomb, I'm afraid," he said, eyes still cast downward.

"Akari is a bit hard on himself. Whenever he explodes, it tends to put him out of commission for a while, but you've seen the aftereffects!" Ikarusu said, sucking in a breath of his cigarette. "Entire buildings, obliterated. Frankly, we have no idea what his upper limits are capable of. The _boss_ figures that he could hypothetically become a nuke, if he were willing to die for it."

"I see…" Tomura said, piecing things together. "If you have him detonate in the middle of the Sports Fest, everyone will know Kaiho is just one man. Is it worth the risk?" Again, the cocky, cruel smirk.

"This is a multi-layered plan, and multifaceted in its purpose," Ikarusu said. He held up his index finger.

"One, we can kill that brat Izuku Midoriya, and probably take down several other future heroes with him."

Then came his middle finger.

"Two, it can be nigh instantaneous. We warp him in, he goes boom, we warp him out. While he'll be exposed to the media, we don't risk losing him, especially with the chaos that'll follow."

His ring finger.

"Three, the Sports Fest is one of the single-most televised events on the planet. The Fest extends far beyond Japan, people from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, they all tune in for this. Such a big attack… it'll send reverberations throughout all the world."

His pinky.

"Four, and perhaps most important, UA's reputation will forever be tarnished. Considering _just _how televised this event is, everyone will see UA's greatest failure. Regardless of whether or not it's their fault, you can count on a significant number of people blaming the school. You had the right idea, Tomura, when you went after UA directly, but this is the… better way to do it."

A part of Tomura seethed, but he realized that he had to bide his time, to work with this upstart… and the plan wasn't _bad_.

"Fine, what do you need from me?" He asked.

"I want you to look into the Sports Festival. Use your spy, as best you can, and find out what the plans are. I want to use Nakamura here only with the knowledge that it'll kill the Midoriya kid, but I'd like to put that off as much as we can. If possible, I'm hoping Midoriya gets to the final sixteen for the one on one tournaments, and then we'll know when to use Nakamura. So have your spy keep a close eye on the wonder kid, have him report how he's doing," Ikarusu explained. Shigaraki scoffed.

"The brat only just got his quirk recently, and you think he can come out at the top of the Sports Festival hosted by the most prestigious hero academy on the planet?" He asked, incredulous. "He probably won't make it past the first round!"

Ikarusu sighed, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray. He then unbuttoned his long coat, and pulled up his undershirt to reveal…

He had a massive scar, one that took up most of the right side of his chest. It looked like a bad burn. A really, _really _bad burn.

"Hisashi Midoriya had _Fire Breath _as his quirk. Sounds weak, and not particularly impressive, right? A one trick pony…" he let his shirt fall back down over his chest. "I underestimated him, and it cost me badly. I tore one of his arms off, and he still kept fighting, you know that? Don't underestimate a Midoriya, unless you want to meet a similar fate."

Tomura scoffed again, taking out his phone to message his contact. "I'd still be surprised if the kid survived his first day."

* * *

Izuku was barely surviving.

It was finally lunch, the first classes of the day had been truly grueling. Especially given that every muscle in his body ached from the intense workout he had been through. And he has to do this _every single day _for a month! Well… save Sunday, at least.

Still, despite the ache of his body, he felt good, accomplished. He found himself looking forward to the training with All Might he'd be having after school as well. And, as an added benefit, he was starving by the time lunch rolled around, which led to him packing away far more food than he normally would.

"Ah, Midoriya," the formal voice of their class rep rang out. Tenya Iida froze for a minute, seeing how Izuku hungrily wolfed down his lunch. Ochako soon came behind him, also catching sight of her friend's appetite. She smiled fondly.

"Those extra workouts with Mr. Yagi must be pretty intense, huh?" She asked, taking a seat beside the boy, who nodded solemnly.

"It's unlike anything I've been through before…" He responded, an ominous note to his voice. Ochako chuckled lightheartedly, as Tenya took a seat across from them.

"Be sure to pace yourself, Midoriya," Iida said, gesturing toward him. "While your hard work is admirable and imperative, you must be certain as to not neglect your own health."

"I will be!" He chimed happily. "Thanks, Iida!" The class rep nodded respectfully.

"Hey, Midoriya!" a loud voice called out to them. The trio turned to find Ashido walking over to them with the majority of their classmates in tow.

"We wanted to check up on you, see how your first day's been going so far," Kirishima explained, sitting down to the side of the boy, opposite of Ochako. The rest of their classmates seated themselves around the table.

"It's been going well, thank you!" He said. "You all really came just to check?"

"Of course!" Kaminari piped up. "1-A's a family, after all."

"There were some we couldn't get to show up, though…" Kirishima said. "Bakugo is just being a bit moody, and Todoroki is aloof at the best of times, don't take it personally.

"I notice Mineta isn't here, either," Ochako added, trying not to be offended. Though she couldn't claim to like the purple-haired boy much, she wanted Izuku to see how many people were there for him.

"Well, I knocked on his door and uh… heard noises…" Jiro said, looking as though she'd be sick.

"That perv!" Hagakure yelled out. "He really is just the worst, isn't he?"

"Now, Hagakure," Iida responded firmly. "While I have a… distaste for his actions, he is still a fellow classmate, one that we should endeavor to lift u-"

"You hate him, don't you?" Ochako asked, a sly smile playing on her lips. Iida could be surprisingly convincing when he needed to be, but she could usually see through him fairly well.

"I…" he trailed off, as the class began to chuckle.

"But anyway, Midoriya, what kinda training regimen are you being put through?" Kirishima asked.

"Hell."

The class was quiet for a moment, clearly no one expecting those words from the boy. A few began to chuckle, Kaminari finally speaking up.

"Oh c'mon, it's only your first day! What's the worst they'd put you thr-"

The intensity of Izuku's gaze cut the electric blond off.

"_Hell."_

Now the class laughed louder, mostly at Kaminari's expense. Kirishima threw an arm around Midoriya's shoulder, the smaller boy clearly not expecting the action.

"Man, Midoriya, you're funnier than I expected!"

Izuku turned his gaze to the redhead, narrowing his eyes. "What's _that _supposed to mean?" Kirishima just smirked at him.

"I mean, let's be honest here, you were kind of a stuttering mess at the hospital," Midoriya's face turned red immediately. "Seriously, it sounded like you'd never spoken to another person before!"

"I-I-I me-mean…" Izuku trailed off, muttering nonsense.

"Yeah! Just like that!" Kirishima laughed goodnaturedly.

"Told you, Toru. He's a cutie," Ashido whispered to Hagakura quietly.

"I _know!" _the invisible girl responded, repressing a squeal. "He's so adorable!"

The girls were careful not to be heard, and quiet, but not so quiet that a certain brunette failed to hear.

Ochako found it annoying, though it was hard for her to pinpoint why. Jealousy?

No, no… well, maybe. Or maybe she was just being territorial over her friend, just because she was the first to get to know him?

She went with that, pointedly ignoring the fact that Kirishima's arm being around Izuku hadn't bothered her in the slightest.

* * *

Shota watched as class 1-A filed in for their last, and longest class of the day. Heroics.

They were buzzing with more energy than normal, the reason being immediately obvious. The class seemed to have taken a liking to the young Izuku Midoriya. Earlier that day in homeroom, Izuku had drawn a great deal of attention to himself, being drenched in sweat that his school uniform did little to hide. It seemed Toshinori really was putting the kid through the ringer.

Despite the certain hell of a morning the boy had, he was beaming throughout all of homeroom. Hard to believe this was the same kid who had nothing a few weeks prior. Shota repressed a smile of his own. Izuku had a certain drive to him, that much was certain.

Shota cleared his throat, the class instantly ceasing their conversations.

_They're starting to get pretty good about that,_ Shota said, remembering how they used to talk over him.

"Listen, there was something we mentioned briefly during homeroom that I want to go into further detail with," the class watched him with rapt attention.

"The UA Sports Festival is a month away."

Shota watched as the class reacted to this news. Earlier that day, he'd told them that it would be coming soon, but now they found out it was only a _month _from now.

Some, such as Kirishima and Bakugo, relished this opportunity to prove themselves, though in different ways, and the blond being much more… verbose.

Others, namely Ashido, looked forward to the chance to stand out.

A few, though, were concerned, Aizawa could tell.

"Mr. Aizawa?" Ochako continued after her teacher's nod. "Is it really the best decision to be doing this so soon after the attack?"

"That's a fair point, Uraraka," Shota said, before sighing deeply. "To be completely honest, I don't think the festival should be held this year, or at the very least, it should be delayed a few months, but… the school wants to show that they're still strong in the face of adversity, and there _is _roughly triple the security detail in comparison to last year's. Even if there were to be an attack, with so many pros, including All Might himself, the school expects there to be no bloodshed, and the sheer number is expected to dissuade any such attack from happening in the first place."

Ochako nodded, but still looked worried. She'd come so close to meeting her end during the last attack, the thought of a second genuinely scared her.

"Now, as I'm sure you know," Shota continued, "the Festival is watched closely, by all hero agencies in Japan and across the world. Normally, the main focus would be on the third years, as this is their last chance and they're the most developed in their journeys to become heroes, but this year is looking to be quite a bit different."

Shota shot a look at Izuku, in his desk beside Uraraka, making eye contact. "Being frank, the media is _still_ talking about the _Hero of Embers_. We've avoided making your attendance to UA known, in the attempt to help you adjust to life here as best you can, but…"

"The second they see me, they'll recognize me," Izuku concluded. Shota nodded.

"As soon as you set foot on that field, Midoriya, the spotlight will be shone directly on you. You're very likely to make the First Year portion of the Festival the most viewed, due to just how much fame you've already amassed," Shota said, watching the boy's shoulders tense. He also noted the looks in the other students' eyes.

Bakugo was seething, making his distaste for Izuku more clear by the second. Todoroki looked as though he would challenge the greenette any moment (Shota avoided saying it, but the son of the Number Two was sure to draw even more attention to his class).

He saw in Ochako's eyes the look of determination. Determined to win, to see her friend win, to advance. She was not lacking at all in spirit.

But what Shota noticed a great deal of was pity. Many of the students looked at Izuku as though he were a dead man walking, already writing him off.

_They're doubting him,_ he realized.

He supposed it made sense. At this point, Izuku was largely an unknown quantity to them. They may have seen his incredible feat of power, but he had been practically unconscious, and his powers didn't seem quiet as powerful now. This, in addition to the fact that he was far behind his peers due to his delayed admission, they'd already accepted his loss as inevitable.

They underestimated him. With good reason, yes, but still.

Underestimating a potential opponent will get one killed, in this line of work.

And like that, Shota had an idea.

"Midoriya may have a spotlight on him, but that doesn't mean the rest of you can't make a name for yourselves. Keep training, work hard, and show them you belong at UA."

"Yes sir!"

Shota nodded, his idea forming into a plan.

"Now," he said, continuing with the lesson for the day, "how to use environments to enhance your movement…"

* * *

The moment Izuku walked through the door of Heights Alliance, he bolted up the stairs, leaving the rest of his class watching his retreating form.

"Little guy's got some pep in his step… wonder what that's about?" Kaminari asked.

"He's probably exhausted," Ochako answered. "Plus, he still has his mountain of catch-up work." Kaminari nodded understandingly.

"Man, the school really set him up to fail," Mineta commented, drawing a few glances. "What? I mean, they didn't tell the media anything about him, so now they have this hyped up image of him and are probably going to expect him to do super well when, let's be honest, he's kind of an easy out."

"You saw what he did to that big ugly guy," Ochako defended. "That thing destroyed Mr. Aizawa with a single punch! He was supposed to be All Might level, and De-.. Midoriya nearly took him out single handedly!"

"...I hate to agree with Mineta on anything," Jiro said, distastefully, "but he is several weeks behind the rest of us, and his power isn't as great as it had been that day, y'know? I wouldn't say he's an 'easy out', but it'll be hard for him to live up to the insane image the media have of him."

"That's a valid point. Every news outlet has heralded him as the boy with the power of a god. I think that would be impossible for anyone to live up to, much less someone at such a severe disadvantage," Yaoyarozu added.

"He can do it, I kno-"

"You all would be better off worrying about your own standings," Todoroki said gruffly, cutting Ochako off. He shouldered his way through the class, walking for the stairs. "If you worry so much about just one person, you'll be blind to the real threats."

Everyone in the class fell silent as Todoroki left. After a moment, Kirishima turned to Katsuki.

"Hey, you knew him, what's your opin-"

"He doesn't matter."

That got Katsuki a few looks. It was Tenya who first spoke up,

"Bakugo that is not an appropr-"

"He doesn't matter. He's still just a little kid dreaming about the impossible. You all coddling him only reinforces his own suicidal notions. If he dies, you'll be to blame as much as he is."

With that, Katsuki trudged away, leaving the class in the second long silence of the afternoon.

This one wouldn't be broken.

* * *

Izuku came down the stairs at four in the morning, thankfully at least getting six hours of sleep the night before. He was already dressed in his exercise outfit, and was ready for the arduous task ahead of him. He grabbed a water bottle, remembering disappointedly that he wouldn't be meeting with All Might this morning. He sighed, but got ready to leave.

Just to find someone waiting for him at the door.

"Hey, Deku!" Ochako said, fondly.

"U-Uraraka?" He asked, surprised. She was wearing gym shorts and a t-shirt, with her hair tied up and out of her face, and it looked as though she'd been waiting on him. "What are you doing up?"

"You're gonna be working so hard, I figured you could use the company?" She said, trying to make it clear that she was asking permission.

"Oh, uh… sure, yeah!" He said, giving her a soft smile that she returned graciously.

They fell into step together, headed for Gym Beta to do some warm ups, the pre-dawn air still being rather warm for this time of year.

"I will warn you, Uraraka…" Izuku began. "This regimen is… pretty intense." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh, is it? You think I'm too fragile to keep up?" She said, her voice low. "Kinda sexist, Midoriya."

"W-what?! N-n-no, I would nev-! I…! I don't-!" His rambling was cut off by her laugh, despite how much she tried to hold it in. He stopped walking, watching as she doubled over, holding her sides, her face turning red from laughter.

"S-sorry, Deku!" She managed to get out, though her continued laughter made her apology much less genuine. "You're just… _too easy!"_

Izuku sighed with exasperation, though he couldn't keep the smile from coming to his face as he continued walking. "I won't lie, I feel kind of… exploited at the moment."

She caught up to him, giving him a playful shove. "Ah c'mon, man up. I was just teasin' ya!"

"'Man up'? Because men aren't allowed to have feelings?" He sighed, trying his best to sound disappointed. "Kinda sexist, Uraraka."

"Hey! That's my joke! Come up with your own!"

"Come up with a better one!"

"So you can steal that one too?!"

"Obviously!"

The two fell quiet, both chuckling for a moment as they continued their trek, now in a comfortable silence.

"So," Ochako spoke up, "are you excited for the Festival? A fanboy like you, I'm sure you'll love seeing all those Pros up close."

He leveled a narrowed gaze at her. "I haven't even shown my fanboy side to you yet."

"Deku, the day we first met you spent the whole night talking about how cool All Mi-"

"I was in a raw place, okay?

"Sure thing, fanboy."

He smiled at their banter, but it slowly faded, his face turning pensive.

"If we're being honest, I'm more excited to see everyone's quirks first-hand. I… used to take notes on quirks, especially pros. I stopped doing it for a while, all of my notebooks sorta got… destroyed," he winced, trying not to bring his mind to that awful fire. "But now, I'm probably gonna get back into the habit of doing it.

Ochako smiled at him. "You should, Deku! You had a ton of insight about my quirk and it only took you a few minutes. I'd say that you still have a pretty great talent for it!"

"Thanks, Uraraka," he said, his tone grateful. But to Ochako, something was off. There was an… insecurity to his voice.

"Deku?" She asked softly, getting his attention. "Everything okay?"

He furrowed his brows. He hadn't said or done anything to give the impression that anything was awry… she really did have a gift for reading people, he realized.

"It's just…" he took a breath in. "I'm excited for the Sports Festival, but I can't help but a part of me is pretty… stressed out."

"I'd be worried if you weren't, at least a little."

"Yeah. I dunno… It's just that…" He sighed, words failing him.

"You may have a strong quirk, but you're at a pretty distinct disadvantage compared to us," she said, bluntly. "I don't know how much you've read, but the media is kinda making you out to be this… mystery savior, hyping you up to an unrealistic standard."

"I wish they wouldn't," his reply was soft. "I dunno, I can already feel the weight of their expectations, and the spotlight isn't even on me yet."

Ochako nodded her understanding. "It's unfair of them. They're going to be expecting All Might part two, it feels like."

"Yeah. I wish I could be that, but I'm not. Not yet, anyway," he said, his tone dimming substantially. "And… I know that the class doesn't think I'm up to the task. They haven't said anything to me directly, but I know the looks in their eyes. Makes sense, I suppose."

At this, Ochako stopped walking for a moment, making Izuku turn to face her.

"Everything okay?" He asked, concern in his voice. She fixed him with a look he had yet to see from her. A look of pride.

"You're right. Our classmates don't think you can do it," she stated. "Don't misunderstand, they all like you, and have every ounce of faith in you becoming a great hero, but right now, in this situation… they're doubting you. So what are you gonna do about it?"

She held eye contact with him throughout a very long silence.

"I… I don't…" he didn't quite know what to say to her. Didn't know what she wanted to hear. Apparently it wasn't that.

She marched forward, eyes blazing, enough to make Izuku clamp his eyes shut and flinch. A moment passed, before he felt her nudge his shoulder with her fist. He opened his eyes to find her smiling at him, the expression seeming so bright in the dark early morning.

"Prove them wrong, Deku. Show them who you are."

Her words started to unravel a knot in his stomach, but the insecurity still lingered.

"And if… if who I am isn't good enough for them?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Then screw them. It's good enough for me." She maintained eye contact for a brief moment, before slapping him on the shoulder lightly. "Now, c'mon! We've got some exercising to get to!"

With that, she started marching forward energetically, leaving her greenhaired friend staring at her as he stood, dumbfounded. Slowly, a smile came to his face, and a warmth to his chest.

_Thank you, Uraraka_, he thought, as he jogged to catch up to his closest friend.

* * *

Shota looked over his class, pleased to see everyone already seated. 1-A was proving to be rather well-behaved, when they wanted to be.

"Good afternoon," he said, gruffly, to which the class repeated.

"Mr. Aizawa?" Kirishima raised his hand. "Why did you have us bring our costumes?"

It wasn't often that Shota Aizawa smiled, and the class knew that it was a bad omen.

"We're going to be heading toward one of the training grounds, the mock city," he said. "Today's lesson; _Fighting at a Disadvantage."_

Some murmurs spread through the class. That title alone sounded rather intimidating.

"It's a fact of heroism," Shota began, the class hushing, "sometimes, you're gonna go against a villain who is more powerful than you, or more skilled. You might be outnumbered, and all of the odds may be against you. The hard truth is, heroes rarely get to be the deciding force as to when and where a battle takes place and against whom, the odds will rarely be on your side."

"As such, it is crucial that heroes in training learn how to combat those bad odds, how to make the best out of whatever the situation at hand is. Today, the lecture will occur after the exercise. I want to see where you all stand, and give you some first-hand experience with the topic before teaching you about it," he said, his eyes traveling the room.

"In this simulation, there will be two teams, one comprised of fifteen members, the other composed of five," this got some of the students' eyes to bulge. "Each team will be led by a captain, and the objective is to capture or incapacitate the captain of the opposing team. Obviously, the team of five is at an overwhelming disadvantage, but this is by no means impossible. Remember that."

A small part of Shota found amusement in the obvious nervousness of the class. "The teams are determined by the captain of Team Two, the one at disadvantage. Whoever the captain doesn't pick will become Team One," Upon saying this, he pulled two tophats out from his desk, each filled with names, one labeled _Team One_, the other _Team Two._

"The captain of Team One…" he reached into the hat, digging around through the papers for a moment. "Katsuki Bakugo." The blond smirked confidently.

"The captain of Team Two…" Another pregnant silence.

"_Izuku Midoriya_."

* * *

_Some of you may have noticed the difference in the seating chart._

_Basically, Midoriya sits where Sato does in canon, between Uraraka and Todoroki. Not a major change, and it mostly serves the purpose of solidifying their friendship._

_I want to make a few notes._

_-Ikarusu isn't replacing Shigaraki as the main antagonist. The way I'd describe it… if All For One is to Tomura what All Might is to Izuku, then think of Ikarusu as being the Aizawa._

_-As said before, Midoriya might have a greater deal of power than he did at this point canonically, but this won't be a cakewalk. He'll still have to face failure, and quite a bit of it, in order to become the hero he strides to be._

_-Likewise, expect Uraraka to play a much more significant role in fights than she does in canon. I love her character, and this is an opportunity for me to make her badass. That said, she will face a great deal of failure as well._

_-In case it hasn't become apparent, failure will be a running theme._

_-This was a nice, slice of life chapter, mostly, and I very much enjoyed writing it, but make no mistake. Bad things are on the horizon._

_-Regarding the last chapter, I will leave it up to your interpretation._

_-Finally, I want to address a comment I got long ago by bens6757, wherein they told me to avoid angst, stating that "many people lean way too hard on it." And I honestly agree with that statement, and they have a very valid point, but I do want to make it known now that this will be a story of highs and lows. Midoriya's gonna be put through the emotional ringer, but I feel it's important. I think, more than anything else, I view this as a story of perseverance through adversity. It's worth mentioning that I started this story not long after being diagnosed with cancer, and in the end, I wanted to write a story about victory in the face of an unwinnable situation. So yes, there will be moments you could consider angst, but think of is as a part of that bigger picture._

_-And again, thank all of you for your support. I didn't imagine so many people would enjoy this so much, and to see it is humbling. Stay safe, and God bless._


	11. Audacity

Chapter Ten

_Audacity_

* * *

The second the name escaped Shota's lips, the class exploded.

"That's so unfair!"

"He just got here and now he has to go against Bakugo?! When _he _has the advantage?!"

"There should be a redraw!"

Shota sighed in mild annoyance. He sent his gaze to the back of the class, where Izuku sat. He couldn't quite tell how the boy felt.

"Well, Midoriya?" The teacher asked. "It's your decision. If you really wanna have a redraw, I'll make this one-time exception." He was lying through his teeth.

"C'mon, Midoriya," Ahido warned him. "This would be bad for _any _of us. There's no shame in asking for a redraw."

"You know, he won't hold back," Kirishima added. "He doesn't believe in self-restraint."

In the face of all of this, Izuku simply rose to his feet, face aimed at the floor, the shadows cast by his hair obscuring his eyes. He walked slowly to the front of the class, standing beside his teacher. When he looked up, his face was one of determination, even if he was shaking where he stood. He turned his gaze to Katsuki, the blonde staring daggers at him.

"I'll do it," for once, he kept his voice from shaking."I'll do it and… I'll win."

"I'll fucking kill you!" Katsuki shouted, banging his desk with his fists. The only thing really stopping him from attacking Izuku right there and then was the presence of their teacher.

"Bakugo, save it for the field," Shota sighed. "As for you, Midoriya, you have four picks. Obviously Bakugo is off the table, but other than that, you can choose whomever you want. I suggest you take your tim-"

"I know who I want."

It wasn't often for Shota to be taken aback, but being cut off with such a bold statement… that did the trick.

"A- already? Are you sure, kid?" Shota asked, regaining his footing. "Don't you at least wanna be reminded as to what their quirks ar-"

"I remember. I know who I want. I've thought it through."

The teacher nodded his understanding. Something about the look in his eyes… the kid had a _plan_. There was no way he could seem that confident without one. That didn't seem to be who he was.

"Alright. Make your picks."

Izuku turned toward the class, his mind already made up.

"Uraraka, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Sero."

His selected team had varied responses. Ochako gave him a smile full of confidence and camaraderie, while both Hanta and Momo seemed surprised to be considered. Shoto, as always, was impossible to read.

Shota nodded again. "Okay. You heard him. Midoriya, your team has fifteen minutes to prepare. Tell them your plan, make sure they understand it, and meet the rest of us at the Mock City. Your teammates can show you the way."

He turned toward Katsuki, who was still seething. "Bakugo, take your team now. Don't underestimate your opponent. Use your resources and make a plan with your classmates."

The blond scoffed, headed for the door already, his team falling in step. Several of them cast Izuku apologetic looks as they left.

"Don't be late," Shota warned, closing the door behind him as he left, leaving the five members of Team Two alone, as the four selected team members walked to the front of the class to stand with their captain,

"Why us?" Shoto didn't waste any time, Izuku would credit him for that. "It was in your best interest to actually _ask _about our quirks first. You may know the basics, but what about our weaknesses?"

"Well, some of it is just common sense," Izuku began. "Like… with you, Sero, and Yaoyorozu, the three of you form objects and matter. Sero and Yaoyorozu in particular create objects from their bodies. It's the first law of thermodynamics, you can't create something from nothing, meaning that they can only create as much as their bodies will allow at a given time. For them, their weakness is primarily that of a limit on how much they can use their quirks."

"I know that for Uraraka, it's exceeding a certain weight. Six tons, I think?" He turned toward her questioningly, being met with her nod. "As well as range, but she can work around that. And for you, Todoroki, I'm guessing there's a limit to how much your body can take?"

Shoto nodded, though his expression was cold. "That still doesn't answer the question of why _us?"_

Izuku looked down, holding his chin in his hand, mulling over his words.

"I know how to win. The four people here give us the best shot at doing so."

"Well?" Sero asked. "What's your plan, Midoryia?"

"Ultimately, Kacchan hates me more than probably any other person alive," he stated, a rueful grin. "I don't want to sound as though I'm bashing him, but honestly… he doesn't think clearly when it comes to me. Never used to, at least."

He looked up, meeting the eyes of his teammates one by one, as he continued. "The second this battle starts, he's going to come charging straight at us. Straight at _me_, to be specific. He almost definitely won't use his team, and won't lead them at all. He's a lone wolf type, he won't be willing to work with those he views as lesser. Without their leader, Team One will be vulnerable."

"As for the exact reason I chose the four of you specifically," he began. "Uraraka is my closest friend in the class, which allows for ease of communication. Her quirk is tricky to deal with, and versatile, particularly excelling in capturing and disabling."

"It's worth mentioning that she's ranked third in the class in hand-to-hand," Yaoyorozu added. Izuku looked at Ochako, who was scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Did you have prior lessons?" He asked.

"N-no, just sorta… came to me? I guess?" He nodded his understanding.

"Either way, even better for us," he began again. "Sero is good from a range, and his mobility mixed with his restraining capabilities will make him more than useful. Yaoyorozu's quirk is so varied in its applications, our opponents won't be able to plan around it effectively." Izuku turned to face Todoroki. "And you, more or less, serve as our 'big gun'. Just how much can you use your ice before you hit a limit? And, how exactly does hitting that limit affect you?"

Shoto narrowed his eyes. _He's different from when he was in the hospital, _he thought to himself. In the span of a few days, he seemed more… confidant, audacious.

"I can't really describe where the limit falls. I could push past it for a long time, if I had to. My limit won't really be a factor here," he said, bluntly.

"Todoroki, your quirk allows you to make flames as well, yes? That would be usef-" Yaoyorozu was cut off by Shoto's glance.

"I don't use it. I don't use my flames. Not when I'm fighting."

That left the group silent for a moment.

"But…" it was Yaoyorozu who spoke first. "But surely, you can see the benef-"

"It's okay," it was Izuku who cut her off, this time. The members of his team turned to regard him.

"I-I mean… I don't pretend to understand _why _he's holding himself back…" he turned, regarding Todoroki. "And make no mistake, you _are_. But that's not something we can change here and now. We just have to accept it and carry on."

Ochako watched, surprised by Izuku's sudden bluntness, as well as Todoroki's restrained rage at such a statement. Regardless, she smiled to herself as she watched her friend become more confident, his characteristic stutter melting away.

_He really is in his element, huh?_

"So, what's the plan, Deku?" She asked. He took a breath in.

"As said, Kacchan is going to break off from his team immediately and race straight for us. I'm assuming they'll be much more familiar with the surroundings, and they'll most likely know exactly where we are from the outset. Due to their captain leaving them so quickly, his team will almost certainly be unsure of what to do. For that reason, they're probably going to stick together, choosing to follow their leader, but at a slower pace."

"Isn't that bad for us?" Sero chimed in. "Wouldn't it be better for them to split up?"

"In some ways, yes. But, with them being all clustered together, that means it's possible to take them out in one fell swoop," he stated, simply.

"You have an idea," Ochako surmised. He nodded, a smirk on his face.

"You're proposing we go on the offensive, to capitalize on their moment of confusion?" Yaoyorozu asked. "It's… actually a very clever idea. They hold every advantage, including knowing the layout of the city better than us due to being able to plan there, meaning…"

"The last thing they'd expect would be an attack," Shoto finished, catching on. A small, begrudging part of him gave the greenette props. It may have been a stroke of genius.

Izuku nodded. "It makes sense that it would work. They'd expect us to play defensively; bunker down and wait for them to come to us. It's a… a bold move, but if it works… we could take out the team in the course of a few seconds."

"Isn't Bakugo an issue?" Sero asked. "I don't think he'd just let us take out his whole team, even if it's only because he wants to beat you into the ground. He'd still try to stop you."

"You're absolutely right," Izuku admitted. "Which is why you four are going to be the ones who take the team down. I'll be waiting for Kacchan."

"You plan to fight him one on one?" Shoto asked. "That's stupid. If you're so certain that he's going to make a beeline straight for you, it makes the most sense to have all of us waiting there with you, to overwhelm him."

Izuku shook his head. "You're underestimating him. Sure, the five of us could beat him, but he's too fast, too nimble with his quirk. Before we could capture or disable him, he'd be able to bring his superior numbers to bear when his team shows up to support him. We would lose the element of surprise that's so crucial."

"Then the ultimate question is simple," Yaoyarozu said. "Can you beat him?"

He answered with a smile.

* * *

Katsuki stared at nothing, silent. The mock city was similar to the one used in the entrance exam, but it was filled with rubble and ruined houses, meant to replicate a large-scale villain attack.

He had every advantage. His team, knowledge of the area, knowledge as to where Deku's group would start off, his mind, his quirk. He had everything going for him.

He was going to crush that pest today, like the bug he was.

"Bakugo!" A loud, irritating voice pulled him from his thoughts. Tenya Iida marched over to him. "We're due to start in two minutes, and you've yet to give us any indication on what our plan of attack is!"

"Figure it out yourselves," Katsuki snarled. "You won't even get a chance to fight. The only one allowed to destroy that bastard is me." Tenya shook his head, clearly trying his best to be patient.

"Bakugo, we have to act as a team. A team cannot be without its leader!"

"Shut it!" Katsuki was yelling now. "I don't need any of you!"

"Hey Bakugo," Kirishima called out to him, overhearing their conversation. "I get that you don't like the guy, but don't you think you're better off with the rest of us? If we have a united front, then-"

"I don't need to be slowed down by a bunch of extras," the blond said derisively.

"C'mon, that's no way to be," Kirishima scolded. He looked to the rest of the team, seeing that they all watched Katsuki closely. "Let us help ya, man."

Katsuki twitched, and his voice came with a barely restrained edge. "I don't need your fucking help."

As soon as the words left, he was stomping away, not stopping for any of his classmates.

As he left, Tenya sighed heavily. He looked at what remained of his team, taking over as a class rep should.

"I suppose we will have to go our own way. It's highly unlikely any of us could keep up with him, it is best for us to stick together. We will move as fast as we can, as soon as the start bell rings. Despite his disregard, we must support our captain," Tenya said, to be answered with nods.

"We're with ya, Emergency Exit," Kirishima's words were accompanied by a slap on the shoulder.

"Thank you all. Despite our overwhelming advantage, we can't allow him to act alone. Together, we will win."

* * *

As the start bell chimed, Izuku looked over his team. Ochako smiled, already triumphant. Hanta smirked, ready for the battle ahead. Yaoyarozu and Todoroki both nodded to him, all seriousness.

"Remember," Izuku said. "Stick to the plan. Yaoyarozu."

She nodded at his que, activating her quirk and handing out the results to Shoto, Ochako, and Hanta. "We all know how to use these, yes?" Her question was answered by three affirmations.

"Then get going," Izuku ordered. "Kacchan is probably close already."

His four teammates nodded as one, scattering a moment later.

Izuku smiled. It was all in their hands now.

* * *

Momo crouched low, taking advantage of the ruined cityscape, moving slowly from cover to cover. She'd yet to see any sign of the enemy, but she'd heard Bakugo's explosion, the pivotal part of their plan.

"_Even if they don't work together properly," _Midoriya had said. "_They'll be starting from the same area. Kacchan uses explosions to make himself more maneuverable, but it gives away his position. You'll be split up, but the second you hear the explosions, the four of you can converge on where you first heard them. They'll most likely be moving at a slower, tentative pace."_

"_I've found them,"_ a voice spoke over the radio that her team had gotten. Todoroki, it sounded like. Finding out that both teams were allowed to carry radios had been a huge boon, more for her's than for the opponents'.

"_They're walking down the main road, surrounded by ruined buildings on both sides. It's a good ambush position. They're moving slow, but Midoriya was right. They seem confused on what to do without Bakugo. They've foregone caution,"_ Todoroki's analysis was accompanied by a term of… reluctant acknowledgement? Seems he'd underestimated Midoriya as well.

"Copy. Moving to a position of support," She responded. She headed for the main road. If her estimations were accurate, she and Sero should be on the side opposite Todoroki and Uraraka.

"_They have no idea what's coming. You should take up position on top of this rundown apartment building, directly across the street from my position. There's a gaping hole in the side facing the other team. You have about five minutes before they pass. Sero should join you. It's a good lookout position,"_ Todoroki advised.

"Roger," Sero answered.

Momo saw the building, moving into position on the top floor, hiding behind the cover of the wall, the hole giving her a good field of vision.

She took in a deep breath.

She was ready.

* * *

Shoto watched the group move forward from atop the roof he was sitting, though they were still slow, and disorganized. A part of him was disappointed, though it was hard to tell whether it was toward his classmates or Bakugo.

Soft footsteps came from behind him, and he turned to find Uraraka looking over the opposing team.

"I'm guessing they haven't spotted you?" She asked. He shook his head.

"They clearly need leadership. They aren't sure of what to do. My guess is that Iida is calling the shots, but I suppose he didn't have much of a chance to think of a plan. Wasn't really his responsibility to do so, anyways," he noted.

"Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully, sitting beside Shoto and dangling one leg off the roof whilst resting her chin on the other, out of view of the rival team. "You think this plan will work?"

"You have doubts?" She shook her head.

"None at all. I was just surprised that you were willing to go with it," she said. "You seem more of a 'do it your own way' type of guy. Plus, I kinda got the impression you don't like Deku much."

He narrowed his eyes. He was usually good at concealing how he felt. She was more perceptionate than he realized.

"It's a good plan. That's the only reason I'm going along with it. Whether I like Midoriya or not is a non-factor."

"Fair enough, I guess." He didn't like the way she said it, as if she understood something he didn't. He turned to regard her, finding her eyes were aimed forward, toward their approaching enemy.

"What's th-"

"_Todoroki, Uraraka, we've got eyes on you,_" whatever he was going to say was cut off by Yaoyarozu's voice on the radio. "_We're in position."_

Shoto and Uraraka turned to each other, leaving their previous conversation in the past. They nodded, knowing it was time to get serious. They each took in a deep breath.

They were ready.

* * *

Hanta sat next to Yaoyarozu, the time for action only a minute or so away. He stretched his arms and legs, getting ready for the coming trial. His job was an important one, after all.

Yaoyarozu was finishing up her part of the preparation, using her quirk. Hanta, priding himself on being a gentleman, had the decency to at least look the other way.

"You still have your pair?" Yaoyarozu asked, without prompt. Hanta nodded.

"Yeah. Right here," he answered, holding up the pair of goggles she had made for the team. Todoroki and Uraraka each had their own pairs as well.

She nodded, seemingly done preparing, and taking a moment to rest. "You see calm," she noted, leaning her head back against the wall.

"Freaking out won't help anything, I guess," Hanta said, slipping his helmet off. "I mean, we've got a plan. Midoriya seemed to predict their actions pretty much exactly. Plus, even you said that it's a good plan. I trust your faith in it."

She smiled, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. "Thank you, Sero. I do have faith in this plan, I just get anxious about these things, I suppose."

"Someone once told me that pregame jitters means that you're alert. It small doses, it can keep you from making dumb mistakes," he said. She nodded, and made to speak once more.

"_Get ready. We start soon," _Todoroki's voice interrupted their conversation, both of them moving to ready positions.

Hanta smirked, clenching his slightly trembling hand, wondering how Yaoyarozu had missed it. Despite his nerves, he was confident. He took in a deep breath.

He was ready.

* * *

Izuku tapped his foot anxiously. He could hear Kacchan's explosions getting steadily closer to his position. He, unlike most of his classmates, was stuck wearing gym clothes, not yet having a costume designed. He took in deep breaths, steadying himself.

His position was where his team had first started. They'd been made aware that Katsuki's team would know their starting point. Izuku sought to turn that weakness into a strength. He stood in the middle of a ruined marketplace, with old shopping carts scattered about. His back was against one of the small buildings that made up the square shaped marketplace.

He knew Katsuki well. Even if some time had passed, the blond hadn't changed at all. He was intelligent, ruthless, and aggressive in fights. He didn't tend to have an overarching plan, though, and that was Izuku's biggest advantage.

This fight would be a lot of tactical retreating and counter attacking, but he could achieve his ultimate goal. Of that, he was certain. It would be hard, Katsuki held nearly every advantage, but Izuku had a chance.

Due to how their quirks worked, Izuku was the better fighter from a distance. So, the ultimate question that would predict the outcome of this fight was a simple one.

Could he keep Katsuki away long enough to win a war of attrition? Or would the blond's superior mobility and close range capabilities garner him the victory?

In a matter of moments, he would find his answer.

He heard over his team's radio channel that they were in position, meaning that their fight was likely to start around the same time as his own.

"Good luck, you guys," Izuku said over the comms, before turning his own speaker off.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in, letting it out slowly.

"_Deku."_

The voice was derogatory, disgusted, angry. Just as it always was when it was directed toward Izuku. He opened his eyes, looking up to where the voice came from. Katsuki stood on one of the shorter buildings, directly across the street from where Izuku stood.

Izuku looked up at him, a small smile coming to his features.

"Kacchan."

He was ready.

* * *

"Ugh, screw that Bakugo!" Ashido complained, loudly. "Leaving us in the dirt like that! It's so embarrassing!"

Tenya sighed, keeping up his pace at the front of the group. They were more or less following him, but despite his calls for order, they moved in random clumps that were tightly packed, but loosely organized. Oh well. He supposed he couldn't complain too much.

They were moving at a fast enough pace, so that they were likely to catch up with their 'leader'. The blond had turned off his radio, too, meaning coordinating with him was impossible. All they could do was follow after him.

Tenya had never met someone more overconfident. Perhaps Bakugo was skilled, perhaps he was powerful, but… did he really expect to have a chance against the entire rival team alone? Sero and Uraraka both had amazing quirks for disabling an opponent, and both Todoroki and Yaoyarozu were heavy hitters in their own ways. This was before you count Midoriya, who was certain to have some tricks up his sleeve.

In truth, Tenya Iida was none too happy with a certain ill tempered blond. Yet, as a president, he had to do his best to speak positively about all of his dear classmates.

"Perhaps this is a part of his plan, Ashido," Tenya offered, though he knew that they weren't likely to believe words he didn't believe himself. "Maybe he means to draw their attention so we may approach un-"

His words were cut off by several sensations happening at once. He heard it first, the sound of ice forming. Then he felt cold, followed by the feeling of being thrown away a few feet by the sheer _force _of the ice's creation. As though it were created so fast, the resulting air displacement created a small shockwave.

He picked his head up slowly, to find that the entire street had been consumed by an ice spire. Half of his team had likely been trapped inside, the other half having been tossed away by the force and scattered, like he had been.

As he rose to his feet, he became aware of something else. Smoke, filling the road quickly.

_They… they took an offensive when we hadn't expected it… capitalizing on our weakness without a strong leader._ Was this Midoriya's plan?

Nevermind that, he had to help his teammates, however he could. The smoke, likely the result of smoke bombs created by Yaoyarozu, had grown to the point of obscuring the sight of everyone on Tenya's team, but that had to mean the inverse was true. So he charged in, ready to find whatever classmates he could.

The first thing he found was a floating Ojiro, suspended in the air.

"O-Ojiro?" The class representative asked. The tailed boy turned toward Iida, warning in his eyes.

"Iida, get out of here! It's Uraraka!"

"Urara-" A sound behind him made Tenya turn, to find exactly what Ojiro had said.

Uraraka, charging at him. Her eyes were obscured by… infrared goggles? Despite this, her wide smile was easy to make out.

Tenya was faster than her, and he intended to take advantage of that. He raced forward, bringing his leg up to kick her, just to find that she'd ducked beneath the blow. He went to maintain his offensive, when he felt a strong force wrap around him from behind, pulling him backwards hard. Looking down at his waste, he found… was that tape?

Whatever it was, it decided the outcome of his fight. The second he hit the ground, Uraraka had touched the surface of his armor, making him lose his gravity. As he floated into the air, he found that the tape had anchored him to the ground. It would seem Sero and Uraraka were working together to restrain their enemies. Mixed with the shock of the initial ice spire, the confusion of the smoke, and the surprise at the disadvantaged team taking the offensive, his team was outright defeated. They had let their guard down, and had suffered badly for it.

It seemed Midoriya had outplayed them, in the end.

* * *

Ochako was feeling good about herself.

Todoroki's initial attack had encased a large number of the enemy, and Yaoyarozu's smoke bombs made any semblance of cohesion the advantaged team may have had fall apart. She didn't care to boast, but Ochako never felt more confident than when she was in hand to hand fights.

Her goggles allowed her to see her opponents much better than they could see her. Even the invisible Hagakure was blindsided and floating by the end. Luckily, Sero was there to keep them anchored, ensuring they didn't float too high up. But, just as importantly, Sero could handle some people she couldn't.

"_Uraraka, capitalize on the confusion of Todoroki and Yaoyarozu's attacks. Float however many you can, but be cautious of people like Kaminari, or maybe Ashido. People who will be hard for you to touch, leave those to Sero."_

Sero was doing his job superbly, and admittedly, so was she. Deku's plan to start off with Todoroki's massive display of power, mixed with Yaoyarozu's smokescreens lead to a situation where the enemy had no real course of action to take anymore.

"_My job's done. I'm headed for the rendezvous point, be sure you don't take too long," _Todoroki said over the comms, to the point as ever.

Truthfully, Ochako was essentially done too. Most of her class were either trapped in ice or suspended in the air. She felt bad for those caught in the brunt of Todoroki's attack, though he had assured them that he would make sure it wasn't so cold as to create frostbite.

She let out a long sigh, stretching her arms. She could hear explosions in the distance. Deku's fight was still ongoing.

"We've got six in the ice, eight in the air," Ochako reported. "That's all of them. I'm moving to the rendezvous as well."

"Ochako, you jerk!" She heard Ashido yell.

"Sorry, Mina," Ochako smirked. "You just got outplayed, is all."

* * *

"DAMN IT, DEKU! STOP RUNNING!" Katsuki had screamed the same thing already. The moment he showed up, the little shit had booked it, occasionally using his telekinesis to chuck things in his direction. It had gotten seriously annoying.

"Try catching up, Kacchan!"

Was… was the bastard really taunting him? He had been since the beginning, honestly.

"_Where's your team, Deku?"_

"_They've got jobs to do. I don't need their help to complete mine."_

Who did the bastard think he was?

It had been some five, maybe ten minutes. A small, very small, insignificant portion of Katsuki's mind had to commend the little bastard. He made good use of the environment, throwing rubble at him, and sometimes used his quirk to kick up dust as a poor man's smokescreen. Katsuki would never truly admit it, but from a distance, Deku had the advantage. The blond knew he had to get in. Up close, Explosion was a hard quirk to beat.

The issue was the sheer versatility of telekinesis. Since the quirk was used with the mind, it meant that Deku didn't have to telegraph anything. Katsuki needed a way in. He needed an ace.

So he came to a stop, on top of one of the old market stands, in the center of the square. Upon realizing that the pursuit had ended, Deku stopped, looking up at the blond in confusion.

"You… you really are worthless," Katsuki said. "Look at you. All you could do was run away, and try to wear me down. It wouldn't even fucking matter in the end; you know that you couldn't beat me. If I was a villain, you'd be dead."

The telekinetic gritted his teeth. One of his hands clenched into a fist. "You're right." His acknowledgement was quiet, reluctant.

"Then why? Why stand here? Why fucking try?!" Katsuki was shouting now. "Do you want to fucking die, is that it?! Are you seriously so desperate to see your fucking mom again?!"

Deku flinched at that, his eyes aiming downwards.

"Why, Kacchan…" His voice was soft, downtrodden. Then he looked up, a challenging smile on his face. "I didn't think you cared so much."

Katsuki felt his eye twitch. His hand trembled. His teeth gnashed together. Then, he felt a smile of his own. Not a smile of challenge, not a smile of friendship or rivalry.

This was the smile of a predatory creature. The smile of a lion, watching a trembling mouse before it.

"You think this is a joke, _Deku?_" Katsuki's voice had a hard edge to it. "The rest of the idiots in our class might pity you enough to keep feeding you bullshit, but I'll tell you exactly how it is. You're nothing. Nothing more than a bug to be crushed. You could _live _an actually obtainable life, why are you so fucking determined to throw it all away?!"

To this, Deku chuckled a bit. "You're an odd one, Kacchan."

"Answer me, damn you!"

"There's no need," the greennette said, a sad tone to his voice. "Nothing I can say will change how you look at me. The only thing I can do is _show _you. I will make you acknowledge me, once I grow to surpass you."

"You want to look down on me, huh?" Katsuki said, his voice dangerously low. He raised his right arm, his left going to the pin on his gauntlet.

"Fine, then. _Burn."_

With that, he pulled the pin. A massive explosion, several times more powerful than anything he'd used thus far, blast forward. The flames engulfed Izuku Midoriya, and Katsuki found himself thrown back, his arm taking quite a bit of damage from the force of the blast. He made his way to his feet, stretching his arm, grateful that it hadn't been dislocated.

He walked forward, the heavy smoke in the air obscuring his vision. Still, he heard Deku's hacking and coughing. As Katsuki walked forward, he could make out the wild hair, made more wild from the force of the explosion.

Deku was sat up on his knees, most of his body having some kind of burns, though it didn't look like the actual _force _of the explosion, the part that usually did the most damage, had really impacted him all that much, meaning he'd probably managed to dodge. The same could not have been said for the buildings that had been behind him. Several had collapsed.

Katsuki walked up to the coughing boy, and lifted him into the air by his shirt. While Deku's burns might not have been bad enough to scar, they certainly caused a great deal of pain, and his body was covered with them from head to toe.

"I win, you bastard," Katsuki barked. He hadn't expected to be met with a dry chuckle.

"Seems that way, doesn't it? Not a bad ace, Kacchan. Definitely did the trick," despite his words, Deku didn't sound defeated. Not at all. He even had the nerve to grin, meeting Katsuki's eyes with his own.

"I'll blast that smile off of you, you piece of shit!" Katsuki brought his hand forward to do just that.

Before he got the chance, a sound to his left distracted him. When he turned to face it, he found his world enveloped in ice.

* * *

"_Then the question is simple," Yaoyarozu had said. "Can you beat him?"_

_He answered with a smile, before saying with the utmost confidence._

"_No."_

_His four teammates all looked at him with different expressions of confusion and exasperation._

"_I can't beat him. Not yet. Someday… someday, I'll be able to, but at the moment… I can't compete with his experience, not to mention his instincts and skill."_

"_Then, we need to ambush him as a group," Todoroki had said, eyes narrowed._

"_No. I wasn't lying. If we try to take him out as a group, we could most likely do it, sure. But his team would almost certainly reach us before we could capture him," Izuku said. He looked over his team, seeing he had their attention._

"_I propose that the four of you ambush his team, while I keep Kacchan distracted and focused on me. You'll likely know the rough location of the enemy, as soon as the match starts and Kacchan splits away. Even if they don't work together properly, they'll be starting from the same area. Kacchan uses explosions to make himself more maneuverable, but it gives away his position. You'll be split up, but the second you hear the explosions, the four of you can converge on where you first heard them. They'll most likely be moving at a slower, tentative pace."_

"_Todoroki, Yaoyarozu, you're going to be the ones who initiate the attack. I think Todoroki should be the one who launches the first strike. Use the biggest attack you can, and capture as many people in the ice as possible. Yaoyarozu, I want you to make as many smoke bombs as you can, as powerful as you can. And, if possible, a face mask for Uraraka and Sero."_

"_Uraraka, capitalize on the confusion of Todoroki and Yaoyarozu's attacks. Float however many you can, but be cautious of people like Kaminari, or maybe Ashido. People who will be hard for you to touch, leave those to Sero."_

"_Sero, your job, like Uraraka's, is to focus on restraining people. Take down anyone that it would be dangerous for Uraraka to get close to, and use your tape to tether, all of the floating people to the ground."_

"_It should be as quick and as coordinated as possible. Then… I'm going to need you all to get back to me as soon as you can. Let me continue to distract Kacchan while the rest of you gather and prepare. Then, when the moment is right… that's when you strike."_

* * *

"Cut it pretty close, Todoroki!" Izuku said, running to join him. The ice-user grunted.

"Think that was enough?" He asked.

"Doubtful," Izuku replied. "We're going to have to use the last step of the plan, I'd wager."

"Is it really necessary? We don't need to use such a maneuver when we've already got him outnumbered so badly," Todoroki said.

"But it'll look _really _cool!"

"I think you just want to spite Bakugo."

"I think me being at this school does that enough. Now I wanna look cool doing it."

Todoroki eyed him narrowly. "You're a different person in fights."

"Not an unfair statement. Where are the others?"

"In hiding. They're ready for the stupid, risky maneuver, that we have not practiced in the slightest."

"Great!"

An explosion cut off the rest of their conversation, along with a shout of pure rage.

"DAMMIT! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Then, a piece of the ice spire Todoroki had created shattered, and a _very _angry blond flew out, straight for Izuku.

"Now, Todoroki!"

The scion in question sighed, but went with the plan regardless. He created several pillars of ice, each meant to serve as a blunt strike to the airborne explosion-user. Katsuki managed to shift his momentum to dodge the first, and destroyed the second with an explosion, but the third managed to strike him square in the chest, stunning him badly.

Izuku knew that this was his chance, and called on his quirk. He pulled every bit of rubble he could find, quickly managing to encapsulate Katsuki in a prison of debris, similar to how he had with the Nomu.

After the Katsuki was completely encapsulated in the cocoon of rubble, he went to the ground. Then, Uraraka and Sero moved from their hiding spots, the former touching the ball of rock that made the prison, before Sero took advantage of it's lack of gravity, and flung it into the air, Katsuki still inside.

Izuku turned to find Yaoyarozu standing beside him, holding several russian nesting dolls in her arms. They shared a nod, before Izuku used his telekinesis to fling up and bury themselves in the prison of stone, before the flashbangs that were inside detonated, hopefully stunning the blond even more.

Now, for the final step. He and Uraraka shared a look, and a smile, before she erased his gravity, and threw him in the air, so that he was hovering over the ball of rock that was still suspended in midair, tethered down by Sero's tape.

Next thing he knew, Uraraka was beside him, having used her quirk on herself. The two clasped hands, Uraraka being sure to keep her thumbpad from touching him, before the two began to spin in midair, quickly building momentum. The two shared a look as they spun, and nodded, knowing the signal.

Izuku felt her thumb brush his skin, and felt gravity return to him as Uraraka took advantage of the spin, and threw him downward using all of the momentum they'd built up. Izuku was rocketing down, directly to the still suspended prison. Now, it was all a matter of timing.

As he got closer and closer, he raised his arm, not even realizing that the green flames were gathering in his clenched fist. At the last possible second, he used his telekinesis to tear away the rock prison, leaving a stunned, confused, and exposed Katsuki.

Then, his fist connected. Green flames exploded outward, though they didn't seem to do much damage.

The force of it sent Katsuki downwards, until Izuku used the flying, weightless rubble to gather beneath the blond to break his fall, leaving him suspended some ten feet in the air. This left only the last move of the maneuver.

Uraraka, using a piece of rubble that Izuku had left above her for this exact reason, pushed off into a straight downward arc, much the same as Izuku had. At the last moment before impact, she flipped so that she was no longer descending head-first, and brought all of her weight and speed down on Katsuki, as she kicked through the rubble bedding he had. He hit the ground, hard, with Uraraka victorious on top of him.

"We… we did it! Deku, our superm-" before she could continue, she threw herself off of Katsuki, and threw up. She'd really abused her quirk, it seemed.

Izuku walked up beside her, patting her gently on the back. "You did great. All of you did."

He kept walking forward to where Katsuki laid, staring upwards. His arms trembled, small crackles erupting from his hands, as was common when he was very, _very_ enraged.

"This isn't over," his voice was small. "I'll kill you. You won't… beat me…" he coughed a few times, struggling to rise to his feet. "This… is nothing… you piece of…"

"**Stand down, Bakugo. This is over**," Mr. Aizawa's voice called over the intercoms, a surprised note to it. "**Team Two wins overwhelmingly. Team One did not take this exercise seriously, and they paid dearly."**

Izuku fell to his knees, panting. He hadn't realized how tired he'd been. He looked to Katsuki, whom he'd never seen so… broken.

"I… lost? To… to _you?"_

"Seems… seems that way, Kacchan."

"Uhhhhhh, Midoriya?" Sero's uncertain voice cut in. "You're uh… bleeding, dude. Like… like a lot."

Izuku scrunched his eyes in confusion, before bringing his hand to his face. Ah, that's what Sero had meant. Blood streamed out of his mouth, nose, even his eyes, despite experiencing no injury that should have caused so much blood.

Then he became aware of the headache. Pounding, screaming, splitting. The kind that distorted his eyesight, the kind that made it hard to think clearly. What could have caused… this…

He moved all of the debris his quirk had been floating to a safe location, then dumping it on the ground. Though the pain didn't go away, or even subside, it at least wasn't getting any worse.

It occurred to him that he had never tried to use his quirk the way he had today. Compared to the past, this was roughly the equivalent of going from a twenty pound dumbbell to a one hundred and fifty pound dumbbell with no warming up or preparation.

"Huh. Guess I went a little too far."

Then he fell face first to the ground, out cold.

* * *

Shota sighed. Izuku Midoriya had a lot of great instincts, it seemed, but self-preservation apparently wasn't one of them.

He assumed the boy had abused his quirk, likely without even realizing it. Even so, he won handily. Bakugo may have wanted to keep going, but at that point… there wasn't all that much the explosive blond could do. He likely had several broken bones that Recovery Girl would have to look at. Midoriya and Uraraka would probably have to go see her as well, just to be sure the repercussions of abusing their quirks weren't too bad.

Speaking of…

He clicked the intercom before speaking.

"Uraraka, go to Bakugo's team and get them to the ground before releasing your quirk on them. Todoroki, go defrost and warm up the ones that need it."

Headaches, the lot of them.

Though, this certainly wasn't the outcome he expected. He'd expected Midoriya's team to do much better than anyone on the other team had been anticipating, but still lose in the end. What this showed him was that;

Katsuki Bakugo was not a good leader.

His students were far too dependent on authority figures, and

Some of them seemed to need a bit more experience.

Midoriya's plan of ambushing an opponent while at disadvantage may have been brilliant, but it had relied on one major gamble: That Bakugo's team wouldn't be prepared.

Specifically, Midoriya had gambled that his four teammates would get within striking range without being found out. Shoji and Jiro being on the lookout very well could have sent Midoriya's plan up in smoke, or at least forced some major adjustments. But due to a lack of strong leadership, no one knew exactly what role to fill. Midoriya's team was coordinated, yes, but they mostly won due to exploiting every weakness the opponent had, while making use of the strengths of each of their team members.

Shota sighed, stretching his back. This was a valuable lesson for his class, and now, he was sure to hammer it home.

* * *

_I'm… okay with how this turned out, mostly. I'm not quite used to writing action, and in particular I sorta glossed over Team Midoriya's takedown of the rest of 1-A, since I wasn't sure how to make it more interesting, and didn't want it to take up too much time._

_Also, I'd like to apologize for how long this took to make. This is the longest piece I've published to this site so far, for one. For two… I may have gotten hooked on Persona 5? Got it earlier this month, and I'd honestly say it's my favorite game of all time. On another note… if anyone is interested in a Persona 5 fic… let me know, cause I'm all the way down for it._

_I'm kind of going for a slightly different take on Midoriya, if it hasn't become apparent? A bit more confident and willing to joke with others, while still retaining some of his more nervous tendencies. There is a reason for this difference in character that will become clear eventually._

_Also, I just wanna address a guest comment and clarify some things. To ranmason, I think I may have given you the wrong idea, and I'm sorry for that. Failure will be a recurring motif, yes, but as I've said, I want this to be a story of victory, in the face of adversity. I get that to some, this might be some random rinky-dink fanfic, but I genuinely hope to give readers this sense of… perseverance? Or just the knowledge that you can accomplish your goals. I agree that constant failure doesn't make for a good story, but I think you need some in order to make those victories mean more. And I'm sorry that you feel that way about your life, I've been there too. I hope you're able to keep your head up through all the shit life may throw at you._

_Lastly, a recommendation for a story that is actually pretty dear to me. "Green Tea Rescue", by ss3dj is honestly my favorite story in all of the MHA fandom. I read it a lot when I was going through chemo, cause it honestly does provide quite the level of catharsis, and has probably my favorite take on the Izuocha pairing. If you like telekinetic Deku, that's the story for you. I first got the idea after watching Mob Psycho, but after seeing another writer make it work _super _well, it gave me a lot of inspiration to see through a similar story._

_Thank all of you for reading and reviewing, and I hope everyone can stay safe._

_God bless._

_(PS I'm so fucking serious about that Persona 5 fic please give me a reason to write one)_


	12. Death of a Decent Man

Chapter Eleven

_The Death of a Decent Man_

* * *

Shota eyed his class as they walked in. Several were covered in bruises and scrapes, whereas Bakugo and Midoriya both looked exhausted after their meetings with Recovery Girl, the former looking even angrier than normal. Quite a few were still shivering from Todoroki's ice, a few others looking nauseated from Uraraka's quirk.

Most on the losing team looked defeated. Hell, Iida looked ready to shout in frustration. Shota couldn't help but sigh.

"Midoriya," he said, after they had all taken their seats, "that was your plan you used, yes?"

"I..." He began, trailing off. "It was my plan, sir. I know it wasn't the best. It was a pretty risky gamble."

Shota nodded. "Can you explain your train of thought to the class?"

Midoriya stood up, taking a breath in. "Well, I figured Kacchan would start off by going straight for me. His team, with no designated leader, would be in disorder. I figured someone would step up, but given they had no time to prepare, their grasp over the group would be weak at best. I also assumed that they would stick together, and move to meet up with Kacchan. I really had to gamble on a few things, like my ability to stall until my team could get back to me, and whether or not Jiro or Shoji would be on alert. If either of them had heard my team coming, then our plan very well could have fallen apart."

He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "It was a desperate plan that relied on a lot of gambles. We just as easily could have lost."

"Midoriya," his teacher's voice cut him off, "give yourself some credit."

"Sir?"

"Your plan was desperate, yes. It relied on gambles too, but you can't forget that you were at a severe disadvantage. Any strategy you came up with that had any chance of working would have required risk. I believe you chose the one with the best ratio of risk/reward."

"It… was still a big gamble, sir."

"At the heart of any stratagem is a well-informed gamble. You did all that you could do, and it paid off. Your team also worked well together: Having a solid plan to follow allowed you to operate cohesively as a unit. All in all, good job."

Izuku sat down, heat rising to his face. He found the heat increased when he turned to find Uraraka smiling at him.

"As for Bakugo's team," Shota began, feeling his students tense up, "you didn't take this seriously, and failed to think for yourselves and adapt to the circumstances. I understand that you all are still new to UA, still learning. Well, consider this to be an important lesson; Never underestimate an opponent. No matter how overwhelming your advantage is, you have to take any threat you face seriously."

Shota turned to Katsuki directly now. "Bakugo, you should have used your team. You lost, with every conceivable advantage, because you squandered every one of those said advantages."

The blond seethed. "I lost because my team couldn't handle four _weaklings_."

"You lost because you failed to lead. You left your team behind."

"...I don't need anyone else."

"Then you willl never be a true hero."

Those eight words seemed to freeze the class for a moment. Katsuki's face bent in anger, before the blond stood up and marched out the door, slamming it behind him. Shota let out a long, tired sigh.

"Listen to me," he said, speaking to his class. "A hero that's unwilling to rely on or interact with others won't get anywhere. Even solitary ones like myself have to go to others for help from time to time. Midoriya's team, good work for realizing this truth already. The rest of you, I'm glad to see that this isn't something you need to learn. You all just need to learn to think for yourselves. You won't always have an obvious leader or authority figure there to guide your way."

He shook his head lightly. "Ultimately, don't be too disheartened by your loss today. You're here to learn, after all."

"Mr. Aizawa? Sir?"

"Yes, Iida?"

"Did you foresee Midoriya's victory?"

Shota saw this question in the eyes of many other students. He sighed, ready to be honest.

"No, not really. I did plan for him to lead the disadvantaged team, just as I planned for Bakugo to lead the advantaged one. I figured Midoriya would give you all a much harder time than you expected, but I didn't anticipate him winning outright."

"Then… the hat draw…"

"Yeah, it was staged. Call it a rational deception," Shota said, a grin crossing his features. He'd never let them know it, but the way they groaned made him suppress a chuckle.

"On a serious note, take the lessons from today. The Sports Festival is a situation where underestimating your opponents could cost you your shot at making it big, and in an encounter with a villain, it could cost you your life. Remember that. Dismissed."

* * *

He sighed, his body begging him for more sleep. Still, he pushed off his bed, far too big for one man, and glanced at the clock. Four in the afternoon. Work started in two hours.

He groaned as he sat up, his bedroom bathed in early afternoon light. He stretched his muscles as he threw on his clothes and walked into his living room.

"Good afternoon, Keisha," a soft voice called. Reclined in his chair sat his wife, looking at him from over her novel. "I'm assuming you work the graveyard shift again tonight?"

"I do. I'm sorry, Rin," he said, as he said every day.

"It's okay, love," she said, as she said every day. "I'll try and stay up for you." She always tried. Never did she manage. He didn't blame her.

"Don't worry about it. You get your rest," he replied, flashing that smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"If you're certain, love," she answered, with her own smile that didn't reach hers either.

He stood there for a moment. He hated this, the tension in the air of what should be a happy home. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to her, to take her hand and say he was sorry. Sorry for not being what she needed, what she deserved.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Rin," he said, his voice cracking. "I know I… I haven't been here when you needed me. I'm sorry. You deserve… better."

She looked at him for a moment, her brow furrowed, her artificial smile never leaving. She studied him, her brown eyes meeting his blue.

"Better?" She asked. "I don't know what you're talking about. You'll always be my hero."

"After losing… After Kei passed, I… ran away, more or less," he said, his words spoken uncertainly. "You… I should have been here with you."

"You save lives every night, Keisha. I can wait." It was what she always said. He knew she meant it. She'd wait forever.

To hell with that. She wouldn't have to wait any longer.

* * *

"Apparently, the brat's impressed his class," Tomura's voice cut through the stagnant, smoke filled air.

"Oh?" Ikarusu said, flicking his cigarette. "Do tell."

Tomura handed him the phone he held. "That's our inside contact. He's in the same class as the Midoriya kid."

Ikarusu read the text, smirking at certain points. "Seems Aizawa is ever the hardass. Midoriya seems to be brighter than we anticipated, too. We need to take him out, as soon as we can."

Tomura's brow furrowed. "You knew Aizawa? That's Erasurehead, right?" Ikarusu shook his head.

"Not personally, but over the years I've known a lot of people taken down by him specifically. He isn't someone to take lightly."

"Aizawa, huh…" Tomura trailed off, remembering how cool the underground hero had seemed. Then Nomu sent him through a bus.

"So, about your spy," Ikarusu began, "did you have him planted from the beginning?"

"No, we chose one of the first years that had already made it in, and put pressure on him to… ah… see our perspective."

"And just how did you do that?"

Tomura smirked cruelly. "If he doesn't do as we say, he'll lose something very dear to him."

* * *

Izuku stumbled into the hall, grateful to have finally gotten out of the classroom. His fellow students had been very… excitable in pressing him for details on his thought process. It was flattering, but it did make him feel a bit awkward, being showered with praise. He certainly wasn't used to it.

Luckily, they'd allowed him to excuse himself to the hall, after he cited the mountain of makeup work awaiting him when he returned to his room. He knew the other students would be leaving shortly as well.

As soon as he walked out of the entrance to the main campus, his gait was interrupted by a strong arm pulling him by the shirt, hard. He looked up, catching the flash of blond hair, and seeing that they were headed to a secluded area, away from the main path to the dorms, over a small hill that hid them from view.

The moment they were out of sight, Katsuki released the smaller boy, before turning to face him.

For a few long seconds, neither said a word. Izuku wasn't even sure what to say, but it seemed as though Katsuki was trying to gather his thoughts.

"You're going to die."

The blond wasn't known for being gentle with his words.

"Kacchan, it's oka-"

"You're going to fucking die." The blond also wasn't known for allowing others to speak over him. "You aren't strong enough for this. You always have been, and always will be, a weak little Deku. Why do you have to try to be more than that?"

Despite the venom in his tone, his words were spoken softly. Not so softly, however, that someone with quirk-enhanced hearing could fail to pick it up.

"I… I made it out of there, that day." Izuku did his very best to keep his words steady. "My mother died for me. If I… die, helping someone else… then I'm okay with that."

It had been a long time since Izuku had seen Katsuki taken aback by words. He blinked a few times, rapidly, clenching his fists.

"Deku, this is your fucking life! You can do something else!" He wasn't trying to be quiet anymore. "Your mom sacrificed herself for you, are you really going to throw it away?! You don't belong here, Deku. This road only ends in your death."

Katsuki was prepared for tears. Prepared for sobs. Maybe even prepared for anger, rage.

He wasn't prepared to be met with a soft, warm smile.

"Who would mourn, Katsuki?"

The blond's words died before they could ever be given form.

"Who would mourn some useless idiot, trying to rise above his station?" The greennette continued. "If I die, only saving one person from harm, then I die fulfilled."

"Who would… mourn you?"

"It's a valid question. You've said yourself, many of our classmates view me with a mixture of curiosity, gratitude, and pity. I doubt the death of a near-stranger would cause them much grief."

"Y-You… you can't seriously…"

The smaller boys smile never left. It never faltered, never wavered. "Truth be told, I only care to live to honor what my mother did, and to help whoever I can. If that kills me, then I accept it. You should too, Katsuki."

Sparing no more words, Izuku turned his back on the stunned blond, walking back toward the dorms.

Slowly, Katsuki raised a hand to his chest.

"'Katsuki'...?" Never once had the boy called him anything other than 'Kacchan', ever since the name had come to be.

The blond sat there, stupefied, as an unknown witness began to move.

They worked their way through the crowds of students headed home, trying to get to the one person that they felt could do something about the current situation.

They spotted her, making her own way to the dorms, and they managed to finally tap her shoulder.

"Oh, Shoji, can I help you?" Ochako chirped, taken offguard by the quiet boy's sudden appearance.

"No, but there is someone who may need your help."

* * *

When Keisha came into the agency at six o'clock, he had one goal in mind.

He marched up the stairs of the building to the top floor, bursting into the traditional Japanese style office, unannounced.

"I need a vacation."

Standing before him, one eyebrow raised, stood the number five hero; Shinya Kamihara, better known as Edgeshot. His expression was hard to read on account of his mask, but he seemed taken aback.

"Very well. You can take the next week off, after tonight."

Keisha stared at his mentor for a few moments. "R-Really? That easily?"

Shinya gave him an amused look. "Were you expecting me to fight you on it?"

"Well, no, but… I know I've put in a lot of hours the past months and-"

"Keisha," a hand on the shoulder cut the sidekick off. "You've done a lot for this agency. I know losing your daughter… I can't fathom how you felt. I had hoped that I was offering you some escape, but I think I may have been taking you away from your wife." Shinya smiled, his crinkling eyes showing it where his mouth couldn't. "Go. Spend time with her. I'll give you some more time off after, should it please you."

"I… thank you, sir. It means a lot," Keisha spoke truthfully. "And to be clear, I don't… regret putting so many hours here. Losing Kei isn't something I'll ever recover from, but I used my grief to help others. I just… don't want my wife to be alone anymore."

"I understand," Shinya said. "After tonight, take her on a trip. They have some great hero exhibits in the States, if you want a recommendation."

Keisha blinked once. Twice. "You… don't really know what a couple does on a trip, do you, sir?" He turned his back after asking, bowing as he left, leaving the Number Five hero alone in his office.

"Is that… not… it…?"

* * *

Ochako paced in front of the door several times, trying to find the right words. She had no idea how to broach this topic, truth be told. The knowledge that a person she considered to be her friend didn't truly care about living or dying, what was she to say to that? What could she say? She truly cared for him, but it isn't like they've known each other for very long or anything.

Eventually, she just took in a deep breath, and knocked softly on the door. He heard the soft call for 'just a moment!', the shuffle of papers, and quick, nervous footsteps. Then, the door swung open.

"O-Oh, Uraraka! Everything okay?"

She narrowed her eyes. He looked fine, but there was something off. "Yeah, things are fine. Can I come in?"

In a different context, she may have been embarrassed to ask. In a different context, she may have felt some level of humor in how flustered the boy so clearly was.

Not now.

"O-Oh, s-s-s-s-sure!" The boy said, shuffling out from the doorway, allowing Ochako entry to his room.

She nodded, muttering a thanks as she walked through the threshold.

His room was surprisingly neat, though she shouldn't have been surprised. He hadn't been here long enough to trash it, and he didn't seem to be the type to be messy anyways. The room was pretty barren, even moreso than her own, the only true possessions being those provided by the school, including a mound of paperwork on his desk.

She closed the door behind her, acutely aware of Izuku's growing bashfulness. She took a deep breath, clearing her mind and gathering her thoughts.

"Are you okay, Deku?"

Her question, though nonchalant in words, held a great deal of weight. She forced eye-contact with him, coffee brown peering into forest green.

"Y-Yeah! Of course!"

It was he who broke contact, eyes forest green darting to the side.

"...Shoji overheard your conversation with Bakugo. I also heard some of what he said during the match, and it was… awful, to say the least. I just… I'm sorry, I…" What was she to say? Ask him to trust the word of someone he'd known for a few weeks?

"I-I…" His voice saved her. "I'm sorry, Uraraka, what I said to Kacchan was… I don't know where it came from. I'm sorry. I really am."

"Deku, I'm not mad at you. I'm just… worried, is all." She rested a hand on his shoulder, drawing green eyes to brown once more; reconnected. "Talk to me. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

"I-I believe you. I dunno. It's just, it's hard to adjust. Going from having nothing to having an actual shot at happiness, it's- it's surreal." Their eyes were locked, leveled with each other. Ochako could feel his pain, his loneliness. Even now, while he smiled to offset the tension he felt.

"You've been through things that I could never understand. Things that I don't think any of us could understand. But I want to do whatever I can for you, y'know?"

"I-I know."

"But… did you mean what you said? That you don't care if you die, provided you help someone doing it?" Green eyes glanced away again, his expression changed. He looked far too haggard for a child, only fifteen.

"I… to a certain extent, yeah. I don't… wanna die, but being given a second chance of life like this, it's… I have a chance to be a true hero, just like I promised my mother. And a hero is someone who lives only for the service of others, so were I to die protecting someone… I'd be doing what any hero should."

Ochako looked away, her hands clasped together, twiddling nervously. "I… I know this isn't my place but… does it have anything to do with what happened to your mom?"

"She died protecting me. She died a hero." What could Ochako do in this situation? She had to bite down on her frustrated emotions.

"D-Deku, I get that. You aren't wrong when you say that a hero should live for the service of others, but I think it's still important to know that you _have things to live for_," she forced eye-contact again. She would force him to understand her point. "I think a hero isn't someone that dies in service of others, it's someone that fights for the good of others, while living to go on and help even more people. If you go in with this mentality of not caring whether you live or die, will you truly even fight to go on? Or will you subconsciously take the easy way out?"

"I…"

"All I'll ask is that you try your best. That you help others, yeah, but… come back to us, at the end of the day. Come back in one piece." She took a breath. "You're wanted here, Deku. Always. There are a lot of people who would mourn you."

"I-I… I'll do my best. For you."

She smiled, a soft, genuine smile. "Thank you, Deku. You're home; here, with us."

* * *

Keisha sighed, the hour approaching eleven at night. This shift seemed to drag on, worse than usual. His uniform, black armor with orange highlights, felt closer to a prison than something meant to protect him.

"_Tairea?"_ Edgeshot called him over the comms, addressing him by his hero name. "_Sorry to bother, but are you close to the Shinjuku district?"_

"Yeah, I'm around five minutes away. What do you need?"

"_Junkyosha's mic went dark a few minutes ago. He hasn't responded to any form of communication. Can you check on him? I'll ping you his last known location."_

"Yeah, sure. Do you think this has anything to do wi-"

"_No, we don't. It's suspected that he's in Hosu at the moment, not Shinjuku."_

"Understood. I'll check in when I can."

"_Thank you. Be alert."_

"Always."

His palms began to shine, as blasts of light shot out, lifting him off the ground. He began to fly over the buildings, moving to Shinjuku, and the alleyway where Junkyosha's location was last pinged.

He landed right outside the alleyway, immediately taking note of how secluded this area was, even in an area as crowded as Shinjuku.

"Ah, you weren't anything special, were you? The ability to take and transfer pain of others makes you a good rescue hero, and maybe useful in a group, but you really struggle one on one, don't you?"

Keisha tensed. That was Junkyosha's quirk. His fist tightened, he took a deep breath.

"Edgeshot," he said, keeping his voice low. "I'm at the location, they got Junkyosha. Moving forward to engage."

Before his mentor could speak, he turned his comms off, stepping into the alleyway.

"May I presume you to be the Hero Killer?" His voice was loud, angry. If the murderer was startled, he didn't show it. He looked at Keisha with a certain amount of disinterest.

"What's this? Another fool, here to challenge me?" The murderers voice was oddly nonchalant, calm. "I can't claim to be this 'Hero Killer', though I dabble from time to time." His smirk was infuriating.

"You… you killed a decent man, and you smirk so casually?" Keisha's fist tightened, light spilling out. "What's your name, murderer?"

"Call me Ikarusu."

"How fitting. You name yourself after the boy who approached the sun, before falling to his doom, and now, you face the hero named after the sun; Tairea."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm the man that will obliterate the sun."

"And I'm the man that will send you careening to the Earth."

No more words were spoken. None needed to be.

The Sun's Hero raise his arm, the light in his palm exploding forward, illuminating the dark alleyway.

'_Sunlight?_' Ikarusu wondered to himself. '_He's appropriately named."_

Tairea watched as his opponent soared through the air, with infuriating grace. He cleared much more air than should've been possible. Did Ikarusu have a quirk that allowed him to glide? Or was it physical enhancement, like a weaker version of what All Might seemed to be.

Ikarusu came down, hard, creating a small crater in the concrete beneath his feet, his long, black coat seeming to blend with the darkness as he surged forward. Tairea blasted another ray of sunlight at the murderer, forcing him into the air once more. His blasts were too large to avoid horizontally, in the confines of the alleyway, leaving verticality as the only option for Ikarusu, just to find another ray of sunlight being shot at him while he was airborne.

'_Forcing me to the air, where I can't dodge? Smart tactic, but he certainly seems to be putting a lot of effort into keeping me away. He must know that he's weak up close.' _Ikarusu was going to have to go all out to avoid getting hit by this.

So it was then that Keisha found himself face to face with his opponent, who very well should have been hit by the blast. Then the foot struck him, the kick packing enough of a punch to send the hero flying through the air, crashing into a wall.

Before he could blink, the murderer was standing by him, leaning against the wall that Keisha had been sent through. "Not all that impressive, truth be told. Your quirk may have raw power, but you lack imagination. You use it to keep people at a range, but what do ya do when you can't do that?"

"Allow me…" Keisha began, rising unsteadily to his feet. "...to show you."

"_**Sun Within."**_

An explosion of force sent Ikarusu flying back, landing on his heels. Before he could so much as blink, a punch to the face sent him into the ground, hard. The sheer strength behind the blow obliterated the earth beneath them, concrete rising up, as Ikarusu laid there, his face covered in cuts. Keisha lifted him by the collar, his entire body glowing with sunlight.

A knee to the gut that broke rips. A blow to the chest that broke the collarbone. Keisha then turned, and threw Ikarusu into the air, sending him at least 50 meters into the sky, before leaping himself, going for the final blow.

"Not… too bad… but… it isn't enough."

By the time Keisha heard those words, it was too late. His fist was caught, as Ikarusu maneuvered with an ease that shouldn't have been possible, and plunged his arm through the hero's chest. Keisha vomited blood. His glow of sunlight was extinguished.

"Sorry it had to be like this," the murdered said, while they plummeted down. "But you were almost a small challenge."

They hit the ground, Keisha coughing up more blood.

He was dying.

He was leaving his wife.

She lost her daughter, and now her husband.

"R-Rin…"

What a failure he was, in life.

What a failure he is, in death.

* * *

_Yeah I'm sorry._

_Last two months have been sorta hectic. I've started working again, and am doing school on top of that. The end result is that when I have the motivation to write, I lack the time; when I have the time, I lack the motivation._

_Not all that happy with how this chapter turned out, but I promise some better ones are coming. Also, keep an eye on my second MHA story, Stormheart. I plan to post a chapter for that one soon._

_Thanks for the read, and God bless._

#BLM


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